


Willful Entrapment

by RedCoral



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, FBI Agent Derek Hale, FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, FBI Agent Theo Raeken, Lawyer Liam, Lawyer Lydia, Lawyer Theo, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Manipulation, Mind Control, Political Crime, Political Fixers Dread Doctors, Politics, Slow Burn, s5 happened differently, s6 not referrenced, still supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-26 03:12:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 41,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16673620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedCoral/pseuds/RedCoral
Summary: Theo looked at him from head to toe in the dingy bar they were at, his expression thoughtful and deadly serious as he said, "So tell me Liam. Are you sure you're not a parking ticket? Because you've got fine written all over you."Liam laughed so hard, he almost fell from the barstool. "Oh my God. Is that what you're going with?""Did you know people are more likely to laugh at the jokes of people they're attracted to?""And you think I'm attracted to you.""I think I've got a chance. Don't you?"He did. And he blew it. He left the next morning to save Liam from the whirlpool that was Theo's life. But Liam had to go and put himself in harm's way again, didn't he? So, Theo entered the Mayor's race against Liam. And now everything was upside down with no way to fix it and survive. But his own survival had never been part of his quest, had it? It's always been Liam's, no matter what Liam thinks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> So this is a fic I've been working on for a long time and I was literally writing it till this morning. This has been beta'd by Roni (ronithedragon) and honestly, I am grateful that she worked through it till the very last minute. 
> 
> The amazing art was created by KatsuA, you can find here [her profile](https://theraeken.tumblr.com/) and [her art](https://theraeken.tumblr.com/post/180283027727/willful-entrapment-author-redcoral)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the show or its characters. 
> 
> Enjoy!!!

 

Liam became a lawyer because he wanted to do good in the world and when that wasn’t enough, he went into politics because he wanted to change it. He saw the corruption and people’s personal gain standing in the way of duty every day. He saw the cover ups, the plausible deniability that everyone was hiding beneath. He saw innocent souls  stigmatized because they were too powerless to fight against it. He saw people change, saw them cross a line Liam knew they would never come back from. It wasn’t fair. Liam couldn’t stand on the sidelines anymore. That was the only reason he was here today; because citizens paid the price of other people’s choices.

It was why he decided to run for Mayor, the youngest candidate in Beacon Hills’ history at only twenty four years old. It was also why he was here, standing in his campaign office, everyone around him silent as they watched him gritting his teeth, trying desperately to hold back his shift as he stared at the television.

Another candidate had entered the race last minute: Theo Raeken.

You see, there are people in the world like Liam, who make something out of themselves because of a desire to help others, but there are also people in the world so caught up in their own self-interest, they forgot that the world would keep spinning without them. Guess  which category Theo Raeken fell into…

The guy was a real scumbag. His reputation as a conniving bastard preceded him and he won every single race and debate he had ever partaken in. He was notorious for using anything that could benefit him even  if it ruined someone’s life, but there was never any evidence to prove it. Liam knew from experience, he had tried to connect the dots many times. He knew there was someone else pulling the strings, and he had tried to go after them, served subpoena after subpoena, threatened lawsuits and criminal charges but Theo Raeken was always there to quash any  action Liam took in his wild goose chase. He had only come close once,so close, he could feel it on his fingertips until it was ripped away from him. It was all Theo Raeken’s fault. He had… No,that didn’t matter anymore. That was a memory Liam Dunbar had pushed to the abyss of his mind locking it behind a vibranium door.

In one word, Liam was screwed and he had barely even begun. He was only four months into the race. Things had looked bright so far, but with Theo Raeken in the game, Liam had lost the ground beneath his feet and he knew Reaken would be the one to cover up the hole left, just like someone had when chimeras had been created in Beacon Hills. Liam couldn’t believe that after so much work, so much money spent, so many sleepless nights creating speeches for events – because of course Liam Dunbar wrote his own speeches, thank you very much – tailoring everything to fit the people’s needs, to satisfy his need to create a better place, it was all going down the drain because of this bastard.

So colour him surprised when he got home that night, exhausted and barely able to stand on his feet, only to find his mortal enemy waiting for him on a pristine white couch that Liam had no clue how it even got there. Liam’s furniture was all black for a reason. That reason being that it was the only colour he knew how to match, but that’s not the point. Liam’s body tensed at the sight of the other man sprawled on the couch with an elegance few could ever master. Liam stopped just inside the doorway, after he put his coat on the rack and his leather bag on the floor. “How did you get in here,” he made it a statement. It didn’t matter if he had phrased it as a question, he knew Theo Raeken had the ability to frustrate him beyond his limits and implicature would make no difference. Liam bit back a growl as he watched the man get up from his seat and strut towards him. Yes, strut, who even did that? Liam did not groan at the picture the other man painted. Barely.

“Liam Dunbar,” Theo said, checking out the other man from head to toe with a smug expression on his face. Liam didn’t know if it was because he was proud of himself for getting such a reaction out of Liam, or if he was simply remembering…things. Things Liam knew nothing about. He didn’t. Theo walked even closer to the young lawyer, so close that one step and the whole atmosphere surrounding them was bound to change. Instead, Theo stretched his hand out, going for a handshake, “I’m happy to make your acquaintance.”

Liam hated that. He hated how Theo pretended he had never met him before, he had never spoken to him, he had never… No, Liam, wouldn’t go there. Fine. If Raeken was going to pretend, then so was Liam. He didn’t take the hand offered to him. Instead he glared at the other man and crossed his arms on his chest. “I’m not. What do you want?” he said, trying to get to the point quickly; pleasantries had no place between them.

Theo dropped his hand but not the smirk from his face, “What makes you think I want something?”

Liam couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. Was this guy for real? “I don’t know, the fact that you broke in my house, brought in a sofa that I hope you’ll take back out or at least burn it, or maybe the fact that people like you always seem to want something?”

Theo looked at him carefully, calculating almost, his expression void of any emotion. “So you’ve heard things.”

Liam didn’t know how to take that. There was something there, an undertone or something. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but those words felt wrong somehow. They sent a pang in his chest that he didn’t know how to interpret. But the truth was… “Everyone has.”

Theo turned away then, choosing to walk around the place as he spoke, looking at the pictures on the wall more closely, checking the random sculptures to see if they reflected the style of owner or of the architect of this house. “So have I,” Theo said as he grabbed a picture from the mantle that Liam didn’t stop him from touching. “Which is why I’m here. I wanted to meet the  _ virtuous  _ man I’m running up against.” Believe it or not, there had been more than one person that had referred to Liam Dunbar like that to Theo. He had to see it for himself once again.

Liam snorted at that, earning a sharp look from Theo. “I’m far from virtuous. I just have morals, a word I’m sure does not exist in your dictionary.”

“Don’t worry, I know what morals are,” Theo said with a smirk, throwing a wink his way. He put the frame back where it was and turned to face fully the other man. He put his hands up in a placating gesture, having experienced a few  of Liam’s anger explosions in the past, not wanting to spark another one., This wasn’t what he was here for; the past had no place here. “I’m not here to pick a fight with you, I swear,” Theo told him honestly, “or challenge you into a debate or whatever else you’re thinking that has you so defensive.”

Liam hated how the man could read his mind without even trying. Yes, he was afraid Theo was here with a sinister purpose. He paid attention to his words, trying to find the underlying trap that he refused to get dragged into, while trying to not let his thoughts show.. Now it was his turn to have a calculating look on his face. “Then what are you doing here?”

Theo shrugged then, “Easy,” putting his hands in his pockets, his mouth turning up at the corner a bit; not a smirk, not a smile, but something. Something Liam didn’t know if it was real or not. “I came to congratulate you, Mr. Mayor.”

Liam squinted his eyes at him. This didn’t make any sense. Theo had just entered the race, and as far as Liam knew people, especially those like Theo Raeken, only entered political races in order to win. “The elections are not for six months.”

Theo outright smirked at that, “I know. You’re going to win.”

Most people would have asked  _ how? _ , maybe most people would have kicked Theo out from the start, but Liam knew there was something there. Every  move Theo Raeken ever made was calculated with a full analysis of the possible risks, backlash and success rates. Theo Raeken was known for his strategic thinking. He was always ten steps ahead of even the most experienced politicians and now here he was, predicting Liam’s win against him. “Why?”

The answer was simple enough, but at the same time complicated things in a way that  Liam couldn’t understand right now. “Because I want you to.”

Liam’s response was instant. He took a step back as if the greater the distance between them, the easier it would be to escape the man’s net. Whatever that meant, whatever games Theo was playing with him, whatever he wanted from Liam, Liam wouldn’t let him have it. If you accepted things or favours or even simple statements from people like Theo Raeken, you relinquished control. You wore a leash on your neck that you didn’t even know was there until it was too late, until the one holding the other end pulled, tightening the leash with each passing moment until you were fighting for air.

No, Liam wasn’t going to fall for that. “No! No, I don’t want anything to do with you!” Liam raised his voice a bit, his hand pointing at him as if it was both a threat and a warning whatever came next, “I know what happens to people who owe you and I’m not going to be one of them.” Dead bodies and mysterious disappearances have circled around Theo Raeken for the longest time, all ‘losses of great friends’ because no one could prove otherwise.

Theo looked calculating again, his mind working in ways Liam could not even imagine, calculating the risks at speeds Liam could never hope to follow, waiting until he reached the turning point. “You said in your speech you wanted a clean office.”

It was true. Corruption had taken root everywhere Liam turned when he interned for the District Attorney’s office and Liam made it his mission to expose them after he graduated, before if he could. He had taken a few traitors out of the equation so far. It was what gave him connections, why people knew his name and his work, why his supporters planned on voting for him. His fight against the dishonourable both during law school and after was what set him apart from the other candidates. But Liam frowned at whatever point Theo was trying to make, since surely Theo had his own agenda to implement rather than memorize Liam’s. 

Just then the murmur from the TV sunk in and Liam walked a few steps forward to stand behind the white couch that faced Liam’s flat screen, which was turned to a news channel, one talking about Liam’s speech just a few hours ago, his response to the new candidate joining the race. “Were you watching that on my TV? How long have you been here?” Liam grumbled, annoyed for some reason, until Theo made his head spin round again.

“I agree with you.”

Liam turned to look at him so fast, he almost got whiplash. “You what now?!” Theo was his enemy, wasn’t he? Or at least he was supposed to be.

Theo took a step closer to Liam, his voice softer than it had ever been directed at Liam.It still held a hint of determination, a hint of strength that Liam didn’t know whether  it was meant to be manipulative or reassuring or both. “I agree with you. This city needs a strong leader and that’s not me.”

Theo looked at him with such intensity that  Liam couldn’t handle it. The aura around the room was becoming suffocating and Liam needed to alleviate the tension somehow. So he wore a fake smirk as he tried to get a jab in for once, “Are you saying you’re weak?”

But Theo’s wit knew no bounds, and it reared its head in moments when people thought him most docile, moments just like this one when Theo’s expression made up for his lack of words. Moments where with just a look Theo could make your knees shake. Simply by taking a step closer, and looking at you like you’re the prey he’s been hunting for and whatever you think, whatever you’re hoping for, you know you won’t escape his claws. Moments when only two words muttered with the utter confidence reminded you of a world you had forgotten. “Easy, Dunbar.” And then just as easily as he pulled you in, he threw you out, back to reality, back to the now, back to the issue at hand.

“Look,” Theo started, his expression serious again – Liam would have said honest, but he didn’t think that was something Theo was capable of  – “I entered this race because people told me to not because I wanted to.” Theo let Liam take that in, because this was important. If the people he worked for had the Mayor’s office in their clutches… let’s just say bad things would happen. Liam needed to understand this. Theo needed him to read between the lines. “I think it’s time for this to stop, don’t you?”

Liam looked at Theo. He felt as if this wasn’t the whole story, as if Theo was revealing the headline and expected Liam to figure out the rest, but Liam didn’t even know where to start. But Theo was telling the truth, his werewolf hearing was telling him that much. But he had told the truth before, truths he didn’t hesitate to go back on. This felt different somehow, different than  _ then. _ Liam hated that it did. “Why me?” he asked, paying the utmost attention, determined to detect even the slightest micro-expression to cross the other man’s face.

Theo smirked on the outside, but his eyes held his true emotions. “I get the feeling you’re stronger than you look.” He thought Liam was stunning. He was a ball of anger, yes, but he had a reason. He fought for what he believed in, went against anyone that tried to put him down, defended the ones who needed it even if he had to sacrifice himself in the process of giving them justice, of saving them from dangers they didn’t even know were waiting for them around the corner. He was admirable, but Theo had never admired anybody and he wasn’t going to start now. That’s what he told himself every time his heart tried to speed up at the thought of the other man. He knew what Liam was, even though Liam didn’t know about him. Liam could take it. Whatever was coming, Liam would come out on the other side. Maybe he’d be bruised a bit, scarred, or afraid, but he would be stronger for it.

Theo stepped back. He needed some distance because Liam’s scent always made  his mind fuzzy. It made him forget, lose the big picture from his focus and this was a time he couldn’t afford that. He buttoned his suit jacket, preparing himself to leave right after he explained to Liam how this was going to go. “So I’ll help you win. I won’t get in your way.” He rethought his statement and  smiled sinisterly, “Much. Just enough to not arouse suspicion,” he reassured the other man, palms up to not let Liam jump into any unwanted conclusions. “I don’t know what my PAC will do. As hard as it is for you to believe, I follow the law and have no association with them. But for every hit you take, I’ll give myself one worse.”

Liam knew no matter what he said, Theo would do whatever he wanted to do. If he said he was going to help Liam win, then that’s what he would do and there would be no trace of collusion or anything else Liam could use to stop it. And Liam would try to use that evidence, even if it hurt his own career because that was his responsibility. So the more he knew about Theo’s plan, the better. He needed to protect himself because he knew,  _ he knew _ somehow this would backfire on him like he also somehow knew it wouldn’t be because of Theo this time. He looked at Theo confused then, “Why not let my team take care of it?” Liam had a great PR team. Mason was leading it and he trusted his friend implicitly, they had grown up together.

Theo shook his head at that, looking at Liam but avoiding his eyes, if it was because of shame or regret,  Liam didn’t know. He couldn’t smell anything on the other man for whatever reason. “Because there are things I’ve done, that even you wouldn’t dare to publish, Liam Dunbar.” He looked at him then, a challenge written clear as day on his face, “But when the press comes at you, come up with at least a  half-assed response, won’t you? I like a hint of challenge from my opponents.”

Liam smirked then, a real one full of promises, one that pulled them both into a memory where the setting was different but the tension between them was still sizzling when a different kind of challenge was accepted. “Bring it, Raeken.”

Theo’s eyes darkened, his mind following Liam’s to that night, as he took a threatening step closer and Liam didn’t back down. He hadn’t back then either. “Oh, I will Dunbar.” He had to walk out. He had to leave before he did something both of them would regret. Liam was more intoxicating than Theo would ever let him know. He was the drug he couldn’t escape, the memory he needed to protect. The memory of Liam was all he had, all he owned for himself and Liam would never find out as long as Theo breathed. This was getting too much; he had to go. Theo had almost walked out the door, but he couldn’t resist turning back one last time, one last time to get under his skin, to reignite that spark he knew Liam was so desperate to hide from the world, even from himself. He turned and raised an eyebrow at the other man, “Enjoy the sofa.” Truthfully, it was a beautiful piece. Theo looked around with a smirk on his face and added, “I think it brightens up the place a bit, don’t you?”

After he closed the door behind him, he heard a thud against the wood, and Theo couldn’t help but laugh and if Liam was the only one who had ever managed that, well no one had to know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, the part in italics is Liam's memory of the events.

For a while, things seemed to  worked out for them. They had no communication whatsoever, but it still proved to be a brutal race. Things had come to light that neither man ever wanted people to know. If it  had been just about them, they wouldn’t have minded, but certain revelations hurt other people. It made the weight on their shoulders increase. Some days, it was hard to go on. But Theo had kept his promise. No matter what they said about Liam, by the next day something even worse about Theo was revealed. Somehow, that made people sympathize with him more, though it wasn’t enough to put Theo forward in the polls.

So when it was revealed that  he had almost killed his mentor, Scott McCall, when his IED was at its highest peak, Liam wasn’t worried. People didn’t know about the supernatural, but Liam’s team managed to fix it. They appealed to people’s feelings, they explained Liam’s emotions when he lost his girlfriend. They explained how Liam thought Scott could have saved her but he thought Scott chose not to. They explained his anger which they insisted was under control now after a lot of trial and error. All it took was one public outing of Liam and Scott having fun with their friends, and it was water under the bridge for most people.

For those that couldn’t move past it, Theo revealing he was responsible for Liam’s girlfriend’s death did the trick. Sure, it came out that he had been used, that he was the tool but not the wielder. It still was enough. Theo’s past was worse than anything Liam could have ever imagined. At times, it even made him doubt the man who had come to him and told him he would help him win. It made him think there was an agenda somewhere, a higher purpose that Theo planned to use against him, a move somewhere in the future that he couldn’t predict.

But it also made him understand who Theo Raeken truly was. He read between the lines, just like he thought Theo wanted him to. There were times he had reached for the phone. He didn’t know why. Maybe to ask if any of it was true? If he was reading this right? He didn’t know. He never made the call. But whatever the story was, there was something missing and Liam didn’t know what it was. He felt like he should.

According to the leaks, Theo’s sister died when he was nine years old under mysterious circumstances, he underwent a heart transplant surgery when there was no medical condition cited, and his parents left their home soon after. Theo was left behind. No one said who took care of him, not even Theo himself when he was questioned about it by reporters. All he said was that it was an experience he had tried to forget for years. That it would undo years’ worth of work to become a better person, someone who deserved to be Mayor. Somehow Liam thought that was a half-truth. Yes, maybe Theo had worked to become a better person, even though every atom in Liam’s body protested against that statement, but something told him Theo didn’t believe he deserved to be Mayor. Something told him that whatever Theo believed about himself was much darker than anyone has ever thought of him.

It was all working out okay for months, until there was two months left in the race and something came up to the surface that Liam had done everything to keep in the dark. Something that brought him back to a happier time in his life that took a turn for the worse before it had even began. A time when Liam thought he could have it all, only to be reminded how harsh life could be.

As he watched the headlines pop up on the screens in the PR room, the magazines coming one after the other, Liam was pulled back in time and it was a hold he couldn’t get out of even if he tried.

_Liam was at the bar. He had just given his closing argument to the court a few hours ago, but his opponent… his opponent was good. Liam had tried this many times, had been trying for years. This was the whole reason he accepted the shitty salary of an Assistant District Attorney when he had offers from the top firms in the city, to have power against criminals. But one of them just refused to go down: Mayor Tamora Monroe. She was as dirty as they come but she had the law on her side, because she never really broke it. Sure, she bent the shit out of it, but she covered her tracks. That didn’t mean what she did was right. That didn’t mean that she didn’t deserve to pay for her crimes. Yes, she didn’t technically break the law, but so many people were starving because of her. It hadn’t escaped Liam that she used to be a werewolf hunter. Liam didn’t believe the ‘used to’ part._

_Point is, Mayor Tamora Monroe had hunted his kind for years, she fuelled the hate in people, used their fear for her own gain. She starved teenagers in places that reminded him a lot of Hitler’s concentration camps. Nobody knew they were all supernaturals in there. They thought it was full with people sick in the head that were deemed dangerous for the society; a modern, glorified version of Eichen House and it was all legal. Liam was trying to undo that, so that he could finally bring her down but Monroe had hired the worst person possible to represent her. Liam didn’t know if she had looked into him or anything, but it couldn’t be a coincidence that on his most high profile case of the year he was facing off against Theo Raeken, the only man, the only lawyer that could get through Liam’s defences, get under his skin as if he belonged there._

_The same man that was walking towards Liam right now at the bar, his hands buttoning the jacket of his baby blue suit, the light hitting him just right to make him seem more like a runway model than a lawyer in dingy bar. Yeah, Liam may have drunk a bit more than he should have. But Theo was wearing a baby blue suit! Seriously, who wore a baby blue suit at work?! And why was he still looking like that?! Yes, a lock of hair had escaped his gelled back look, but that made him even more endearing if that was possible._

_Shut up, Liam. He tried to banish those thoughts from his mind, the thoughts that zoomed in on how green his eyes looked in that suit, or how they shone when he smiled and-_

_“Two glasses of whatever he’s having, please.”_

_-aaaand he was sitting next to him._

_Great._

_Awesome._

_Amazing._

_Liam was screwed. Those eyes were even greener up close._

_He tried to keep his eyes on his drink, as he asked, more like stated, “What do you want.”_

_Liam felt a hand on his arm that made him freeze. He had been twirling his glass, that was almost empty, seeing how the bar’s lights reflected on the bottom of it, until Theo touched him. He looked down at the arm first, then at the man himself. Liam thought he had drunk too much, so much that he was seeing things because Theo had a warm smile on his face and that must have been a hallucination. Liam wasn’t sure this whole experience wasn’t. Theo had never directed a warm smile at him. And his voice… God, his voice, “Hey, you did good out there.”_

_“You did better,” Liam responded a minute later looking back at his glass, downing the last drop left._

_“Thank you, but I don’t think that’s true,” Theo was the one to look down now, as if he was trying to hide something. Liam flashed his eyes momentarily just to see better in the dark atmosphere. Was Theo blushing?! The chances of this being a hallucination were getting higher, there was no other explanation for it. Also, did Theo just return the compliment in the smoothest and nicest way possible?! Liam was impressed; confused as fuck, but impressed._

_Liam frowned at him, “Since when are you nice to me?”_

_Theo seemed to contemplate that a bit, his eyes turning to look at the highest shelf, his head tilting like a confused puppy, but his expression anything but. He smiled, that small smile that turned his lips up just a little bit in the corner, the one that seemed the most genuine of all. “I’ve never been not nice to you,” he shrugged. And as if he knew what Liam was thinking, he turned to him with a raised eyebrow and added, “Court doesn’t count.”_

_Liam huffed, “Whatever.” His mind was too unfocused to try and prove Theo wrong and his presence was making his senses go crazy. Seriously, how could the man smell so good? “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”_

_Theo smirked then. He turned his body fully towards Liam, crossed his legs at the ankle, leaned an elbow on the counter, holding his drink absentmindedly. Liam hasn’t seen him take a sip yet. “You actually haven’t asked me that.”_

_“Asshole.”_

_Theo laughed. Liam had never heard the sound before from the other man. It was better than his favourite song.  Theo looked at him, that small genuine smile still there and he explained, “Look, I’m not looking for trouble. I’m just here to get a drink. That’s all.”_

_Liam snorted, “Somehow I doubt that’s all.” A man looking like that in a bar like this could not have such low goals for the night._

_Theo gestured around with his free hand, as if he was inviting Liam to take the conversation further. “Enlighten me then. What am I doing here?”_

_“I bet you’ve booked a room at the hotel across the street, and I bet you’re not leaving here alone tonight.” That thing when Liam’s brain to mouth filter sometimes failed him completely needed to stop at some point. He refused to feel embarrassed for what he said, though. It was probably true anyway._

_Theo looked at him then. No, look is not a strong enough word for how their eyes locked, how it made Liam feel trapped, caged like an animal but there was no panic to show for it; he wasn’t afraid. Liam thought he should be. But Theo spoke then, his voice husky, his drink still untouched and his eyes holding Liam in place, “Why, are you offering Liam?”_

_Liam blushed then. No, it wasn’t because he wanted that. Shut up, it wasn’t. His brain just refused to get that message, that’s all. “Fuck off,” he shoved the other man away. “You asked and I answered.”_

_Theo didn’t move from where he was, even with Liam’s push, and he didn’t look away from Liam’s eyes either. This seemed like a turning point, like an once in a lifetime opportunity and Theo wasn’t going to let it slip away. If there was a chance… “So did I, and you didn’t,” Theo pointed out._

_Liam looked at him, the drink Theo bought him halfway up his lips as he stared at the other man shocked, disbelieving that a man like that wanted Liam. Yes, there was tension between them every time they crossed paths. But Liam rarely tried to find its nature. Whenever he did, it was in the darkness of his room, nights that no one knew about. “You serious?”_

_Theo smiled sadly, then and Liam hated that expression on his face. He wished he could take it back. He wanted to take it back. Theo looked at the countertop when he said, “You don’t have a high opinion of me, do you?”_

_“Not really, no.” See what I told you about that brain to mouth filter? How was that response going to take the sad smile away, huh?_

_When Theo looked back up at him, it was as if his whole demeanour had changed, painted over with a determination that was shining through his smile, “So let’s start over,” Theo suggested, standing up and extending his hand to the other man. “Hi, I’m Theo Raeken. Can I buy you a drink?”_

_Liam looked at him with a raised eyebrow, his intoxicated brain needing a moment to make sense of it all. He raised the glass he was holding pointedly, “You already have. ‘Cause, seriously, I’m not paying for that.”_

_Theo rolled his eyes and didn’t take his hand back, “Can you just play along for a minute?”_

_“Fine,” Liam sighed. He took Theo’s hand and refused to think about how warm it felt in his, how right. “Hi. I’m Liam. Liam Dunbar.”_

_Theo stepped closer to him. Thankfully, the old barstool was tall enough that the height difference didn’t put a crick in Liam’s neck. Theo looked at him from head to toe, his expression thoughtful and deadly serious as he said, “So tell me, Liam. Are you sure you’re not a parking ticket?” Okay, Liam was confused. And Theo was smirking. Again. “Because you’ve got fine written all over you.”_

_Liam couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to. He laughed; he laughed with his whole body, he laughed so hard he almost fell from the barstool. He was still laughing when he turned incredulously at Theo and asked, “Oh my God. Is that what you’re going with?!”_

_Theo looked at him fondly, amazed that such creature actually existed, that there was someone on this earth who could laugh so freely around him, “It made you laugh, didn’t it? Did you know, people are more likely to laugh at the jokes of people they’re attracted to?”_

_Liam smiled at him, a happy feeling settling in his stomach. No butterflies, not yet, but soon, maybe, possibly. “And you think I’m attracted to you.”_

_Theo smiled shyly at him, “I think I’ve got a chance. Don’t you?”_

_Liam bit his lip as he thought about this. If he hadn’t had any alcohol in his system he would have left a long time ago, he would have ignored that little voice in his head that was telling him to go for it, but he couldn’t ignore now the possibilities that were lying ahead. “Maybe. We’ll see how the night goes.”_

* * *

_The night went well. It went better than well actually. It had been a long time since Liam laughed so much, or blushed as a matter of fact. Every time Theo looked at him, he felt something, every time Theo smiled his heart beat faster, and every time Theo moved him to the beat of the song, he felt like drowning. He never thought there was a good way to drown, and believe him, he would know. Liam was terrified of the sea. It was never-ending and unknown and after a specific depth you could die of oxygen deprivation. But Theo was an ocean he’d be happy to explore, happy to let go in. Not happy to drown in, but for some reason it felt inevitable. And as the night went on, that inevitability seemed to be coming closer._

_They were dancing face to face, barely moving to the beat of the drum. They were in their own world right now, both of them lost in something they never thought they’d get to experience. They had their arms wrapped around each other, their foreheads touching, their breaths mingling. Theo wanted to move, he wanted to lean in but he didn’t know how welcome that gesture would be from the other man. They had joked about things earlier, sure, but Liam was important. Liam choosing Theo was important and he didn’t want to cross any boundaries that would put Liam’s choice at risk. Theo had never cared about that before. Ironic, right? That the one person that brought out his best self could never know the truth, could never know what was coming, what Theo was involved in. Theo wouldn’t put him in harm’s way, not Liam; never Liam. “Come home with me,” he whispered, afraid that his voice would get lost in the sounds of the bar._

_Liam heard him though, and he gulped, pushing away his nervousness. He knew Theo was giving him a choice. They could do nothing or they could do everything. Whatever Liam chose, he knew Theo would respect that. He felt a thrill run down his body in anticipation. They were both sober by now and Liam knew this might be the biggest mistake he ever made, but even so, he wanted to make it. He licked his lips as he looked into those green eyes, “That’s kind of far, don’t you think.” They were both here for the case, this wasn’t where they lived._

_Theo pulled back a bit, the ground he couldn’t even see in the dark lights seemed so fascinating now as he admitted, “Well, I booked a room at the hotel across the street. Just for me to sleep, I swear! But if you wanted to join me, I wouldn’t say no.”_

_Liam had decided. Theo blushing was his favorite sight. He struggled to comprehend how vulnerable Theo really was. This was a side of him he hadn’t seen before, and he didn’t want to lose sight of it for even a minute. It felt like a privilege only few had the honour to be offered. There was only one answer repeating itself in Liam’s head, “Okay.”_

_When Theo leaned down to kiss him, he didn’t protest. He welcomed the feeling knowing it could consume him any moment now, knowing that he wouldn’t stop it if it did._

 

* * *

_They were lying in bed, both of them exhausted but neither of them wanted the night to be over. If they could hold on just a little longer… They both tried. They truly did. Liam was lying on Theo’s chest with his arms crossed on it supporting his chin, looking up at the other man whose head was supported by the pillows in what must be a very awkward angle just to look at him. One of Theo’s hands was playing with Liam’s hair. It was making him fall asleep faster, but it felt so good, so soothing, he didn’t dare stop the motion._

_He knew the night was coming to a close, and the way Theo was looking at him right now, Liam wanted to see it again. He wanted to see Theo again. He didn’t want this to just be a tryst, a lapse in judgement. He didn’t want them to go back home and then pretend nothing ever happened. He felt that if they did, something bitter would crawl in his heart, something bitter would slip into his voice and as infuriating their matches at court were, they had never been malicious intentionally to each other. He was scared that would change. He didn’t want that to change. And maybe, maybe Theo wanted to see more of Liam too. Which is how he searched his mind for the best way to ask and he remembered the line Theo used on him earlier. Well, Theo wasn’t the only one who knew pick-up lines. He tried not to smile as he asked, “Roses are red, violets are blue, I can’t rhyme, but can I date you?”_

_Theo didn’t stop combing through Liam’s hair. His heart started beating faster at the word. Honestly, he never thought this was an option. He thought he’d have one night and he was okay with that. It was better than nothing. But what Liam was asking… He couldn’t. Theo knew he couldn’t. But what would he say? What words would ever be enough to explain, to soothe the pain he knew he was bound to cause to the other man? So, he hid it all. Instead he raised an eyebrow at the other man, trying to avoid the question altogether, “Your rhyming seems fine to me.”_

_“Asshole,” Liam swatted at the chest of muscles in front of him. “I’m trying to be serious here.”_

_Theo tried not to laugh, he really did. If a chuckle escaped him… well. “With a pick-up line?”_

_“Shut up. You used one too.” Liam could feel his cheeks turning red. Also, Theo still hadn’t answered._

_Theo laughed, throwing his head back. “Fine.” Theo couldn’t do it, he couldn’t break this man’s heart. What if he took this moment for himself? What if he wrapped himself in cloud nine with Liam and lived it just like he wishes to? Can you blame him for that? Don’t worry, whatever your answer, Theo still blamed himself more than enough. Still, he smiled at Liam and before he even spoke, he saw the other man’s smile was widening, as if he knew what was coming. But Theo had a surprise for him. “Yes, Liam, you can date me. By the way, if you were a flower you’d be a damndelion.”_

_Liam pushed him off the bed and the fucker was still laughing._


	3. Chapter 3

_When Liam woke up, it was to an empty and cold bed. The room was immaculate, clean like he assumed it was when they came here last night – Theo had occupied him too much for Liam to really notice – the bed was made next to him, as if Liam was the only person who had slept in it. But Liam knew that wasn’t true. Even if he didn’t remember last night, he would still be suspicious. He was a messy sleeper; he tossed and turned, sometimes woke up with his head on the side where his feet were supposed to be. So he knew last night was real. He also felt his heart sink, the pain wrapping itself around his heart, presenting as anger at the first chance. Liam tried to calm down. Maybe this wasn’t what he thought. Maybe Theo couldn’t sleep and had gone for coffee or breakfast or something._

_Liam dressed himself quickly, walking out the room fast, barely remembered to pick up the key card to come back. He rushed downstairs, but the lobby was empty. Maybe he went back to the bar. Maybe Theo forgot something there last night. Maybe it was something that Liam’s groggy brain couldn’t come up with._

_He walked across the street, paying attention to the passing cars – he didn’t want to die before he found Theo, that would be really tragic – and walked in the bar. The annoying bell above the door signalled his entrance and the bartender turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Probably not expecting a customer at nine in the morning. He recognized the woman from last night. What she was still doing here, Liam didn’t know, but he was glad because maybe she remembered Theo._

_Liam walked up to the counter, tapping his fingers nervously on it, hoping maybe the bartender would pay attention to him. But when she didn’t, he couldn’t wait any longer. “Excuse me,” he said, a nervous lilt in his voice. When the bartender looked at him, polishing a glass in her hands which she somehow made it seem threatening, Liam went on. “Hi. I don’t know if you remember me, I was here last night-”_

_The woman interrupted him before he could tell her about Theo. “I remember you.”_

_“Great! Awesome!” Liam said excited, getting his hopes up for a moment. “Do you maybe remember the man I was with? A little taller than me, baby blue suit, gelled back hair?” He tried to give as an accurate description as he could. He could do better, but Liam doubted the woman would like to hear about the two moles on Theo’s chest. He doubted it would help much._

_“Yeah, I remember him,” she barely looked at him. “Theo Raeken.”_

_Liam froze. “Wha-” he knew for a fact they never told her their names._

_“And you’re Liam Dunbar,” she continued as if Liam never said a thing. She smiled at his confusion, almost unkindly, and pointed at herself, “I’m juror number 12.”_

_Liam was horrified. He had to go now. This conversation couldn’t continue. If anyone saw them, if anyone found out it, could derail the whole case. The verdict was coming out today and speaking to the jury before that was a crime. Liam put a hand out to stop her from saying another word, “Oh God. Please, do not say anything further. We cannot be having any form of communication.”_

_The woman, Tracy he remembered from the jurors’ list, Tracy Stewart, smirked at him as if she didn’t give a damn they were committing a crime. She probably didn’t. “He left you, didn’t he?” Liam didn’t give anything away, but it seemed like she knew intimate details. It was as if she was speaking from personal experience and that wasn’t possible. Theo wouldn’t do that, would he? They have been here only for three days, this being the third, which meant that two days ago Theo was… No. He couldn’t think like that. Theo wouldn’t do that. The Theo he was with yesterday wouldn’t do that. But Tracy… Tracy knew things. “You woke up alone in an empty hotel room and it was like he was never even there. The sheets made, the room tidier than you left it.” Tracy looked at Liam. She looked at him carefully, shaking her head at his naivety. “God, I can’t believe you fell for that,” she chuckled. “I thought you were smarter than that.”_

_Liam thought he was smarter than that too. “How do you know-?”_

_She didn’t let him finish once again. “Everything?” She shrugged then, “It’s what he does. He charms his way under your skin, gets you in bed and then leaves you in the morning to pick up the pieces.” She seemed lost in thought, like her memories were a plague she couldn’t escape and that scared him. Liam was scared of what these memories might entail, both for her and for him, because as the second passed by, that thing about Theo being his biggest mistake? That seemed more and more like reality rather than wishful thinking._

_Tracy shook herself from whatever movie was playing in her head, her whole body shivering once until all traces of woe were gone. “Anyway, I haven’t seen him.” She looked into his eyes then, her own promising something Liam couldn’t understand. “And I know that next time you do, you’ll wish you never had.”_

 

* * *

 

_Liam didn’t think there was a word for how he felt right now. Desolate, heartbroken, shattered… he didn’t think any of them were accurate. The worst thing was that it was his choice. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to spend the night with Theo. He had heard things about the other man, everyone had, but Liam didn’t believe the rumours. And Theo had been so warm, so genuine the night before, that Liam disregarded it all. He always knew there was more under that mask Theo wore to court every day. He just didn’t think he’d find the rotten soul underneath._

_Wait, that wasn’t fair. It was Liam’s anger speaking and he regretted it right away. The guilt added to the weight on his shoulders, made him hate himself that little bit more for being like this after spending just one night with the other man. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling this much. Whatever Theo had unlocked inside of him, was working now against Liam in the worst way possible._

_It was time to go to court. He had packed his stuff, not that he had much, took what little he had forgotten in Theo’s room and went to the check-out point at the hotel. “Hi, I’d like to check out of room 619, please,” he told the receptionist. He hadn’t even used it. He supposed it was Theo’s responsibility to check out of his own room. If he was even here._

_The receptionist searched something on the computer for a moment and then she went to retrieve an envelope from the back room. “Mr. Dunbar?” He called out._

_“Yes?” Liam replied confused. He hoped there weren’t any problems with the payment._

_“Mr. Raeken left this for you.” He slid the envelope across to Liam inconspicuously, and Liam hesitated to even touch it. His throat was suddenly dry and the air wasn’t going easily in his lungs. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what he’d find. What? Did Theo leave some dollar bills to thank him for the great night?_

_That wasn’t fair either._

_He grabbed the envelope and he took a few steps away from the receptionist. His hands were shaking. He took a breath and closed his eyes for a second. He was scared, he was terrified. He knew whatever Theo had written in here couldn’t make up for the way he had made him feel; both last night and this morning. He gave him hope only to steal it away like a thief in the night.  He grabbed the little parchment of paper and pulled it out. He opened his eyes, his sight blurry for a bit, before his eyes could fully focus on the words in front of him._

‘I’m sorry. I can’t. Don’t forget me. Please.’

_That wasn’t fair. Theo couldn’t ask that of him. Not after leaving him, not after wanting him like that, worshipping his body and mind, holding him, kissing him like it meant something, dancing with him, using those damn ridiculous pick-up lines, making him laugh…  Theo was asking too much. And yet, after so many experiences in such little time, Liam knew he would comply with the request. Not because Theo was asking him, but because he knew he couldn’t forget him if he tried. His mind was hooked, and getting over this… Liam didn’t know how he was going to do it._

_It didn’t matter right now. He had to go to court; the verdict would be out soon._

_The verdict never came out. The case was tossed out with prejudice after Liam Dunbar was found colluding with a juror. Maybe Liam was hurt, maybe Liam was bitter, but what did that have Theo’s scent all over it? Is that what last night was? A plan of entrapment? Liam struggled to believe it, but it didn’t seem impossible. He had seen worse things, anyway, in his line of work; just never from Theo Raeken._

 

* * *

 

Liam couldn’t breathe. The headlines were spinning in his head, his thoughts running in a million directions trying to process it all. Air was escaping his lungs and the letters blurred as he stared at the front pages in his hands.

_CANDIDATES COLLUDING FOR MAYORSHIP_

Another breath gone. No breath in. He couldn’t understand, he couldn’t believe that people could say that about him. He never thought… they weren’t supposed to know. No one was supposed to know.

But collusion? Really? That didn’t even make sense! Technically, it wasn’t true. Theo had said he was going to help Liam win. He never said he wanted Liam’s help to do it. Whatever Theo did, that was his choice. Liam had nothing to do with it.

_LIAM DUNBAR OUT OF THE CLOSET?_

That knocked him back in time, back to high school where people were less than accepting, even of the captain of the Lacrosse team. But he had never been in the closet in the first place! He had never actively hid who he liked. He just happened to date a girl, then liked a guy. Where was the harm in that? His sexuality was something personal, something that had nothing to do with his campaign or the cases he took on. Liam never wanted his sexuality to define him, he wanted to leave that to his work, to his actions as a lawyer and a politician.

_MAYOR SCANDAL: ONE NIGHT STAND OR ONE NIGHT SCAM?_

Liam could feel the fangs in his mouth. He could feel the anger uncoil inside him, taking over the panic and consuming him in a way that terrified Liam. He felt that urge to yell, to break things, to shake the stupidity out of people. But his imagination was bloodier than that and Liam couldn’t let it get to that.

He looked at that headline again, trying not to let his claws come out and rip it apart. What did that even mean?! Liam couldn’t even comprehend how they found out about that night, which was almost a year ago, long before Liam decided to run for Mayor. Everyone in their social circle knew about the anger Liam and Theo displayed towards each other every time they met. Liam could deal with the speculation around his and Theo’s relationship, or at least he thought he’d be able to eventually because right now his wolf felt like it was becoming its own entity with Liam trying to hold it back, but there was one last thing, one article that made him panic, one article that got under his skin and hit him where it hurt the most.

_LIAM DUNBAR: NOT AS VIRTUOUS AS WE ONCE THOUGHT. STILL ON FOR MAYOR?_

This one didn’t make him panic, didn’t make him angry enough to tear this room apart piece by piece, chair by chair. It made him want to howl with pain, whimper until the wound on his heart closed. The article was harsh and incriminating. It discredited him in the worst way possible, shredding his credibility in a million pieces. All his campaign was about, all his followers admired him for, all people knew him for torn apart for someone’s amusement. Liam thought he had witnessed first-hand how cruel the world could be; be it for the werewolf thing or just every day cases in his line of work. But this… this was something else. Something Liam was struggling to swallow, to understand, to breathe through.

“Shit,” he heard Mason mutter from a distance and a moment later hands were holding his arms, shaking him and calling his name repeatedly.

“Liam! Three things cannot long be hidden! What are they?! Liam! Answer me!”

Mason was freaking out. Liam could hear his heartbeat speeding just like his own. If he was trying to get him to use his mantra that meant he was wolfing out, not in a way that Liam could hide, but a way people would inevitably see. Liam was losing control. He hadn’t done that in a long time. He needed to get a grip. He needed…

“Liam! What three things cannot long be hidden?!”

… he needed to see Theo.

_The sun, the moon, the truth._

He closed his eyes and repeated it again and again, as many times as he had to until he felt his eyes return to their normal blue hue. “The sun, the moon, the truth.”  He opened them and looked at Mason, trying to tell him he was okay without actually having to speak. They did that sometimes; have a conversation with just facial expressions. But sometimes they needed to hear the other was okay. Sometimes words were necessary. And as Mason’s heart was still running a mile a minute, Liam understood this was going to be one of those times.

“Are you okay, man? You scared me,” Mason frowned at him with concern.

Liam shook his head, “I will be.” It was the closest thing to the truth he could say. He was still trying to process things, he was still terrified of everything people had found out and Mason… Liam and Mason had made a pact when they were kids; no matter what was going on in their lives, they would never lie to each other. Yes, they could withhold the truth until they were ready, but they were eventually going to tell it. And Liam had broken it. The night with Theo happened a year ago and Liam had never told Mason. He never thought there was a point. Maybe he had been trying to convince himself for a while that it had all been a dream or just a terrible nightmare. Or maybe it hurt too much to talk about. It still did. He was so not ready to have this conversation. He needed to see Theo; he needed to talk to him. “I have to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere like this.”

“Mason,” Liam growled at him. His hands were still shaking, his anger at how the events unfolded was more alive than ever. He needed to see Theo _now_. “Just give me the keys.”

Mason shook his head, “Corey will drive you,” he said throwing the keys at his boyfriend.

Liam tried not to grit his teeth, but he doubted he was successful. “Fine. Whatever.” Hey, at least he didn’t blow up in their faces, which is something. He turned to leave assuming Corey would follow him, “Let’s go.”

But Mason’s voice stopped him before he went out the door. “Liam. Is it true?”

Liam stopped. He didn’t turn around to face Mason, he didn’t unclench his fists, he didn’t let go of his anger; anger at himself, at Theo, at the world. He couldn’t talk to Mason like this. He couldn’t admit to what they both knew was true. “I have to go.” The door slammed behind him and his anger only got  worse.


	4. Chapter 4

Liam was buzzing with anger the whole way to Theo’s campaign office. He ignored the worried looks from Corey. Whatever the chimera had to say, Liam didn’t want to hear it. There was only one other person in the world who knew about that night, who knew all those details and Liam just couldn’t believe he had trusted him. How stupid was he to let himself be vulnerable like that? How could he believe the man that walked out on him after telling him he wanted to stay? Why did he not expect this? He knew Theo. He knew every side of him there was to know. How could he do this?

How could Theo do this to him? That was the question running circles around his mind. How could Theo do this? Yes, he had heard the rumours. Yes, he had witnessed Theo pull insane tricks in court, but that night they spent together… that night Liam _believed._ He believed in Theo, in an invisible force hidden deep inside of him that burned brighter than the sun. He knew that such light had to be invisible; had to be locked in a fortress. But Liam had seen it. He didn’t know what crap Theo had been through to keep it so far down, but he had let Liam get a glimpse that night. And that Theo did not fit with this one, the one who did ­ _this_ , because Theo was the only person who could have done this, the only person who could hurt Liam like that, the only person who could come straight for his throat and Liam wouldn’t even see it.

Theo was standing in the middle of his office campaign, staring with an unreadable expression at whatever he was holding in his hands. Liam didn’t care. If he had, maybe he would have recognized the rage, the worry, the regret. But he didn’t see it; he didn’t see any of it. All he saw when he laid eyes on Theo was red. He saw Theo as the master manipulator he was supposed to be. For the scorpion that stabbed the camel on the back. He saw the nature others spoke of, be it imagined or not.

He stormed in the room, not giving a damn when the glass door broke from the force he used to open it. He didn’t care about the gasps or the terrified looks people were giving him. He didn’t care about the field day Mason was going to have after this as people whipped their phones out in his periphery. He didn’t care. All he cared was about the man staring at him in surprise as Liam basically lunged at him, pushing his shoulders – Theo only fell a step back in surprise. With the force Liam had used, he should have been lying at the other end of the room. “You! How could you?! How could you do this?! You asshole! You lied to me and I-”

“Not here,” Theo growled at him, his surprise obviously gone now. He grabbed Liam’s wrist and dragged him to an empty room. All it had was shelves, grey walls, fully empty otherwise. Theo closed the door behind him and threw Liam against the wall. Liam who was still raging at him, yelling and moving constantly, trying to escape Theo’s hold.

“You lied to me! You said- your PAC and I- there are only two people in the world that know about this! How could you?!” Theo knew what he was thinking. He hated it, he hated that Liam thought Theo was capable of this. Liam probably thought Theo had given the story to his PAC to win the race. Because this, the stuff they said… people wouldn’t trust Liam anymore and they both knew that. They took it too far this time and Theo wasn’t going to let them. But he couldn’t tell Liam that either. It was too dangerous. But he could give him hints.

Liam was still struggling against him though, and Theo couldn’t focus on a single thought when Liam was acting like this. So he used all the power he had, and pushed Liam’s wrists over his head against the wall, moving his body forward so that no space was left between them, no space for Liam to escape. “Will you calm down? I didn’t do this!” Theo yelled in his face.

Theo didn’t know if it was the proximity or the admission of innocence, but something gave Liam pause. Something made Liam stop moving, stop talking, and he just looked Theo in the eyes and searched for something, anything, probably the truth. Liam glanced at Theo’s lips for a moment, a miniscule amount of time really but it didn’t escape his notice. But that wasn’t what Liam was here for. Theo had hurt him, he knew that and it was the kind of pain he couldn’t take. Even if he tried right here, right now, when Liam didn’t know about his supernatural status, no black veins would appear on his arms.

Liam didn’t yell anymore, but he still snapped at him, “You just ruined everything, how do you expect me to calm down?” Liam froze then at Theo’s proximity. He had gotten so close…just like Liam had imagined whenever he felt lonely in his massive bed, or whenever he craved for comfort no one else could provide. It did something to him, having Theo near like this, touching him even if it was just to ground him. Because he did that; whenever Theo was around, be it in court or that night in the bar or in the hotel room later, no matter how angry he got, no matter how much his heartbeat rose, Liam didn’t need his mantra. He had never used it around Theo, and that realization was like a cold bucket of water thrown at his head, bringing him to reality, hurting him that much more because Theo betrayed him, he betrayed _them_.

“ _I_ didn’t do this!” Theo said again, tightening his hold on Liam’s wrist, but the man didn’t look like he felt it. But Theo was angry too, he was angry at himself for putting Liam at risk in the first place just by developing feelings for him, he was angry at Liam because he had always been so irresistible in court which left Theo always wanting a taste, he was even more angry at Liam that he let Theo have that taste, but he was more than angry at them, the people he worked for, the ones who lived to make his life be misery without the company. He was their tool; had been for years, their hold on him too strong to break. Until things changed and Theo started dreaming. He started feeling. He started hoping. And then Liam had come along and had only amplified those feelings.

“Then who did?” Liam asked, but Theo barely heard him.

He was lost in his own mind, the memories that haunted him. Liam was here, not asking what bullshit this was, what lies, but how could he, how could he reveal intimate details only they _knew_. And that hit him hard. He moved his hands mechanically, his palms on Liam’s face now, touching his soft skin, looking in those beautiful eyes which simply blue was not an accurate enough colour to describe them. He looked at the man in front of him in awe and wonder, his heart beating wildly in his chest. It was the first time he didn’t remind himself it wasn’t his own. “I didn’t-” he tried to speak, but his voice cracked with emotions he couldn’t express. “I didn’t know if you remembered.” Whoever he had been with before, they never remembered. The people he worked for were powerful; they did things no one could scientifically explain. That was the only reason Theo had pretended like nothing had changed, as if they didn’t know each other in the most intimate sense. He begged in his note not to forget him or their night together, a futile attempt to save his most important memories. But he knew the Dread Doctors, the people he worked for, wouldn’t let him have this. So why didn’t they erase Liam’s memory?

Liam looked confused. Theo had asked him not to forget back then, but he didn’t know Liam replayed the memory in his head almost every day. It was like sometimes he was still stuck in that night, in the day after, still waiting for Theo to show up and just do something, but it never happened, and Liam never stopped waiting. He was still waiting, no matter how much the admission hurt. “I-I do.” He almost whispered. It was the only thing he could say without admitting too much. He didn’t know if it was the wrong thing to say or if Theo just realized what he was doing, but he jumped back as if his hands were on fire, his eyes wide, shocked at his own actions. Liam saw him get the furthest away he possibly could in this tiny room, leaning his body against the shelves opposite of Liam. He didn’t speak for a whole minute, and every breath Liam took to stabilize himself now that Theo wasn’t close, felt like it wasn’t enough to sustain him through this.

“There aren’t,” Theo said, thinking of what Liam had said before. He didn’t dare look at him though. How close he was before, how clear Liam’s eyes had been in his line of sight, that was an image that he would never get out of his mind; another memory to cherish, another memory to protect.

“What?” Liam had no idea what Theo was talking about.

He looked at Liam then, “There aren’t only two people who know.” At the time, he had thought the same Liam did. He thought they wouldn’t follow him to another state. He thought he had proven himself enough for them to trust him to get the case thrown out by himself. But they still followed him there. They did things Theo couldn’t stop them from doing and he knew, ever since he left Liam that morning, the information they had and so he was careful. They must have found out he was helping Liam win, they must have figured it out. Theo had thought that he could outsmart them, that he could fool them and somehow he ended up being the fool. How could he say that to Liam? How could he tell him it was his fault; that everything was his fault?

He sighed, “Look, the people I’m doing this for,” and somehow Liam knew Theo was speaking about his own candidacy, not Liam’s, “they’re dangerous.” Theo took a step closer then, he needed to see Theo up close, see the honesty on his face. Liam needed to believe, to read between the lines, to get every single hint Theo was about to drop, because there was no other way to explain.

“They’re terrifying and honestly, they fill me with _dread_. _Dread,_ you hear me?” Theo was stepping closer and closer as he spoke, until their faces were only a breath away. He tried to put emphasis on dread, hoping Liam would connect the dots, if he had even ever heard of them, the Dread Doctors, political fixers that took down and created governments with means others might hesitate to use. But Liam was still looking as confused as ever.

Liam felt that something in Theo’s story was staring him right in the face, but he couldn’t understand, he couldn’t see it. He frowned at the other man in confusion, “What are you talking about? Who? What are you-”

Theo interrupted him before he said too much. They were always listening. Theo didn’t know how, but they always knew everything. He had tried to lie to them once, it didn’t end well for him. But this room was different, it was special. They shouldn’t be able to hear things here. It was where he planned everything that had to do with Liam’s campaign. But they found that out somehow, hadn’t they? So he leaned in close to Liam, as close as he could get away with, and spoke quietly, “They hear every word, no matter where I am. And if they learn I’m helping you, I’m a dead man.” He didn’t tell Liam that they probably already knew.

Liam gulped at Theo’s voice in his ear. He tried to keep his heartbeat from rising with all his might. He didn’t pay attention to see if he succeeded. His mind was kind of distracted right now. “How do you know they’re not listening right now?” Liam mirrored Theo’s volume just to be safe.

Theo pulled back a bit. He wanted to look Liam in the eyes now that he had the pretext for it. He smirked at him – he couldn’t help it, he loved Liam’s reaction to it, a mix of annoyance and attraction – “I had this room specially made.”

Under any other circumstances, Liam would have rolled his eyes. But this was serious. He couldn’t joke when it came to Theo’s life. Whatever he said before, even if Theo had been the one to betray him, Liam still didn’t want him dead, he wouldn’t be able to live in a world where Theo didn’t exist. “But what if they are,” he insisted.

Theo looked at him, his expression turning serious as he took in the worry coming from Liam. He couldn’t believe Liam was worried about him, he shouldn’t be. He didn’t deserve it.  “Then I’ll take the risk.” Truth was Theo had risked it all the moment Liam came into the picture. “I took it the moment I saw you.”

Liam shook his head, “Theo don’t-” He didn’t know if he was trying to stop him from admitting things or from being stupid about his own life. Maybe a part of him knew that if Theo admitted things, if he heard some things come from Theo’s mouth, Liam would be pulled back in. He would be under his spell again, a spell he didn’t know if he had ever really gotten out of. Another part of him, one that Liam didn’t want to see if it was bigger or not, wanted him to just give in.

“It’s the truth.” There were some things Liam needed to know. Something was about to go down, something that Theo would be responsible for and Theo didn’t know if he would get out of it alive. He dared to put a palm on Liam’s cheek, to keep it in place, to hold him one last time as they locked eyes, “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay? I’ll fix it.” That was a promise Theo was prepared to keep with his own life if he had to.

“How do you know they won’t come after both of us?” Liam argued. Now he was the one filled with dread at Theo’s insistence. His words held a darker meaning, something that made Liam wary of whatever Theo was about to do.

Theo snorted at that. “Two candidates dropping dead or mysteriously missing at the same time? Please. This isn’t their first rodeo Liam,” Theo said, shaking his head. “They’ve spread _dread_ before.”

 Liam still looked confused. Why did Theo keep emphasizing that word? What was Liam missing? What was going on here? But it seemed like Theo was speaking from experience now, like… “You helped them.”

Theo shut down then. He stepped back, putting space between them. He crossed his arms across his chest defensively, “I did what I had to do.” Was it guilt? Was it shame? Was it righteousness? Maybe it was a mix of all that Theo used to keep himself sane after all the things he’d done, all the things they made him do.

Liam felt a pinch of guilt at Theo’s reaction. He hadn’t meant to sound accusatory. He knew, though, that however powerless he felt or whatever they were holding over his head, Theo always had a choice. The choice to leave, to not take care of anything, to not risk his life, to get away from them as fast as he could. “You didn’t have-”

Theo didn’t need to hear this. Liam knew nothing of what he’d done. He had no right to judge him or comfort him or justify Theo’s actions.. So, he didn’t let him finish his sentence. Liam had to go, either way. He couldn’t stay here long. “You need to get out of here. Before people get suspicious.” He looked at him carefully and warned him, “You can’t trust anyone here.”

Liam hesitated. If Liam couldn’t trust anyone here, then neither could Theo. As the danger of the situation they were in sunk in, Liam hesitated. He couldn’t leave Theo alone. He had no idea what was going on, but he was scared. He was scared for Theo and himself and everyone he loved. He had suddenly found himself in waters deeper than anyone could swim in and survive. He always thought he could handle anything life threw his way, but he didn’t know what was coming this time. He could only feel the fear creeping up his spine, and he couldn’t stop it.

Theo saw Liam hesitate. What was he still doing here?! He should be running for the hills already. “Liam. Go. I’ll fix it.”

Liam took a breath, searched his mind for something, anything he could say to Theo and prolong his stay. The magazines’ headlines popped up in his head, the ones that brought him here in the first place. “They’re saying we’re colluding,” Liam complained.

Theo raised an eyebrow at him, “We are.” They kind of were truthfully, though no legal action could be taken against them.

“Theo-” Liam didn’t know what he was going to say, or more like growl at him. He just wanted to say something that would keep him here with Theo, that would satisfy his sudden need to protect the other man.

“Go!” Theo knew Liam was stalling, but he wasn’t going to let him. He had to go. Theo had a call to make. He saw Liam huff at him like an angry puppy and he almost smiled fondly. Before Liam opened the door, Theo had one last thing to say. “I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but I’m not who you think I am.”

Liam turned to look at him, a serious expression on his face, “Who are you then?”

Theo had no answer to that. Who was he? He didn’t know. Or maybe he couldn’t explain. He was a product of his environment and now he was trying to fix it. But would Liam understand? Theo didn’t know, so he didn’t say anything. He watched as Liam waited a moment longer for an answer he knew wouldn’t come, until he walked out, his mind heavier than ever.


	5. Chapter 5

Theo paced the room after Liam left. He had a call to make. This space was supposed to be safe, safe from the clutches of the Dread Doctors and whatever they used to spy on him, but then this happened and now Theo didn’t know if it was safe anymore. They knew. Theo was sure they knew about him helping Liam and since they did, it wouldn’t be long till they came after him. Theo was shocked they hadn’t come yet. He had to call Derek. Everything was about to blow up in their faces and the other agent had no idea.

Oh, yeah. Did I forget to mention this? Theo was an undercover FBI agent. Yeah… Long story.

So, Theo made a decision. He had been compromised somehow, at least partially, and this was the only place he had trusted to be, so he made himself extend that trust for just a little longer. He took his phone out of his pocket and pressed the speed dial he was never supposed to call. It barely took two rings before he could hear a voice from the other side.

_“I told you not call me on this number.”_

Derek sounded angry, like he was frowning down at the phone so strongly, that the intensity of it could make Theo picture it in his mind. Theo didn’t care they had told him to only use this line in life or death situations. As far as he was concerned, this was a life or death situation, one that concerned Liam’s life. His tone was clipped as he said, “It needs to happen now.”

 _”Theo-”_ He heard Derek sigh down the line, but Theo didn’t care. It was like he was numb. Liam’s life was in danger and there was only one way this could end, Theo’s way. The only way that kept Liam alive. He didn’t care about the risk for himself or any of the other agents that needed to help out. He didn’t care about the people he had been trying so hard to save from the Dread Doctors. He only cared about one thing. Derek needed to understand.

“No Derek,” He interrupted the agent. “They went after Liam. Liam. You get that?” Theo was angry now. His head was filled with all the things the pseudoscientists could do to Liam, all the ways they’d use him to get to Theo, to hurt him where it hurt the most. He couldn’t let it come to that. No, he was _terrified_ that it would actually come to that. “They can come after me, whatever, they can do whatever they want to me, but not him, not-” Theo was losing control. He was shouting. He was growling at the phone, his eyes flashing. He could feel his fangs dropping in his mouth and he was thankful all staff was banned from this room. He was safe here. That’s what he kept telling himself.

 _“Theo, calm down. We can fix this.”_ Could they? Theo didn’t know.

Theo gritted his teeth – something he had definitely gotten from the other man – and repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument, “It needs to happen now.”

_“We need a little more time.”_

Derek was speaking carefully, hesitantly and Theo knew he wasn’t going to like the answer to his question. “How much?”

Derek paused for a moment. _“Until the elections.”_

“Shit,” Theo swore. He started pacing. His worry turned into tension and he needed an outlet. He pushed his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture he rarely let show. He tried to think, his mind analysing all the possible scenarios, all the possible moves he could make, but he didn’t like their odds of success. It was too long to wait. If things had gone according to plan, everything would have worked out perfectly. But Theo took his own spin on the events, and it backfired spectacularly. It wasn’t what he wanted. He had been trying to keep Liam safe right from the start, not threaten the beta’s life. “That’s in two months.”

 _“I know. I’m pulling you back.”_ Now that was a tone of voice that left no room for argument. That didn’t mean Theo wouldn’t try to change Derek’s mind.

“No, Derek, you can’t-” Theo needed to stay right where he was, close to Liam, close enough to take care of him, to protect him if anything happened. He needed to go through with the race. He couldn’t abandon his post, not now when the scales that used to be balanced were about to tip to an unknown direction.

 _“Theo. Liam will be safe okay?”_ That was his soft voice. It had always been soothing to Theo. He didn’t know if it was because Derek had once been an alpha, or because Theo had been an omega before he started working with the FBI. Deep down he knew his wolf recognized Derek as his alpha. That didn’t mean he was ready to say it out loud. _“But I need you to be safe too.”_  Derek was right. It wouldn’t help anybody if he died before his time, before their mission was over. He didn’t want to think that his death would impact anybody else’s. He didn’t want to make himself more miserable than he already was. He was afraid to realize how alone he truly was. _“You have 10 minutes.”_

Theo was ready in five, and as he got in the car he didn’t look around him. He didn’t want to see what he was going to miss, because he knew he wasn’t going to see the light of day until this was all over. He closed his eyes as he sat in the backseat of the car, trying to conjure up Liam’s face in his head in order to ground himself for what was to come.

“It’s almost over, Theo. I promise.” That was all Derek said and Theo didn’t ask for more. Ignorance could be bliss for fifteen minutes.

 

* * *

 

Liam was lost. He was worried for Theo, worried for his friends, worried for himself. He shouldn’t have left. He should have stayed. He should have pestered Theo until the other man told him everything; every truth he omitted, every lie he had used against people, every move he had made to help whoever it was he was working for. Liam should have asked for more than a vague explanation and a simple admittance of innocence. But now it was too late to go back.

When Liam left, he called for a taxi to pick him up from the opposite end of the street. He had told Corey to leave, to go back to Mason. Liam hadn’t thought he would be done so soon. And now the taxi was late and Liam had been standing there trying hard to ignore the piercing gazes of passer-bys, most of them recognizing him. He was thinking of walking the forty blocks back to his own campaign office when he saw a black car skid to a halt in front of Theo’s office. Liam was ready to jump into action, his mind going to terrorism and guns like he saw in movies when the car stopped like that. But before he could, Theo got out in a leather jacket and casual clothes he hadn’t been wearing ten minutes ago and jumped into the car without hesitation. Liam watched as the car sped away, everything around moving on as if nothing happened and it made his stomach drop.

The taxi got there, and Liam didn’t have much time to think about it. He got in and when the driver asked where he was taking him, Liam’s mind went blank. He didn’t want to go back to the office. He didn’t know what to say to the people who worked for him, who volunteered their time and life to help his campaign. He didn’t know if there was anything he could ever tell them that would make this alright. He wasn’t ready to face them. But he wasn’t ready to face an empty house either. Not when his heart was beating so fast in his chest from worry. Not when the loneliness was creeping up his skin now that Theo had been in such close proximity and was torn away once again. Why couldn’t they make this thing between them right? Why couldn’t they have this? They wanted each other. Yes, even after everything Theo had done, whatever it was, Liam would still take him in his arms in a heartbeat. Did they have to suffer? Was this God’s plan? Sometimes, Liam wondered if it was, what was the point of all the danger,the worry, and the anger.

“Sir?”

Right. He was still in a taxi. There was only one place he could go really, one place he had to visit before everything else. He needed his best friend. He needed to explain, he needed him close but Liam was scared. Mason was mad at him, he knew, he had every right to be. But Liam had to make it better. He could fix this while Theo fixed everything else.

 _Theo._ Where was he? Was he okay? He knew those were the questions that would plague his mind for the rest of the day.

Maybe Mason would understand once Liam told him everything. He had to. So, he told the driver Mason’s address and watched the buildings blur by as they moved through the city, his mind repeating his argument with Theo, the look in his eyes as he talked about the dread those people had spread, or how he shut down when he admitted to his own wrongdoings. Liam didn’t know what they were and he couldn’t trust his imagination either. It was full of massacres and blood, of human trafficking and torture. None of that seemed right, even though he had no idea what Theo had done. .

They reached Mason’s apartment complex sooner than Liam expected. After he paid and got out not waiting for change, Liam waited for the elevator to take him up to the fifth floor. That was when he realized, as he waited impatiently in the small silver box that Mason wouldn’t be home right now, not after the mess Liam left for him to clean up. Liam didn’t want to go back to the office though. He didn’t want to leave. He was already here. So, he went to Mason’s door and didn’t even bother knocking. Instead, he leaned his back against the wall, the weight of everything pushing him down and down until he was nothing but a mass of bones lying on the floor.

\--

Liam didn’t know how long he waited. There were no windows in the corridor and his mind had never provided him with an internal clock or a great sense of time. He could have waited here for an hour or five with his memories and wild imagination as his only company. The images were fuelled by his concern, by the dread in the pit of his stomach combined with the facts he knew so far, which if you disregarded the rumours,  wasn’t much.

Suddenly, the elevator pinged and Mason came out, keys already in hand. But his face… Liam gulped at what he saw. Mason’s expression was unreadable and it rarely was to Liam. They had gone through almost everything together. They had been best friends since kindergarten. They had laughed, they had fought, they had hurt each other during all those years, but they had always loved each other like family too. They still did. At least Liam hoped so. He didn’t want this to be the thing that breaks them. Mason had always been a rock, a constant in his life that he didn’t want to live without. But Liam had messed up and he knew a simple apology wasn’t going to fix this.

He scrambled to his feet like a baby deer, and he spoke before Mason had the chance to say anything. “Mase, I think I made a mistake.” _Thank you, useless brain. Thank you for the not apology that came out. Mason will definitely appreciate it._

Mason closed his eyes at that, his head hung low as he said, “So it is true.”

Liam suddenly remembered all those headlines, all the spite, resentment and disappointment people had expressed against him and he hurried to correct himself, not wanting his best friend to feel the same, “No!” But they were technically right. “Yes.” It was more complicated than anyone knew, but his history with Theo was not a mistake, not anymore. Neither was their alleged collusion. “Yes, it’s true. But that wasn’t my mistake.”

Mason suddenly exploded then. Liam didn’t know how long he had been holding back for, but he couldn’t say he didn’t deserve at least a little bit of yelling. “Liam, how could this not be your mistake?! They’re saying-”

“I know what they’re saying.” He didn’t need to hear it again. But it wasn’t the whole story and Mason deserved to know the whole story.  “But I – Let me explain please?”

Mason looked at him for a moment, studying him and Liam held his breath. He didn’t know what was going through his best friend’s mind. He only hoped he could make it better. Finally, Mason sighed at him, “Come in,” and moved forward to put his keys in the lock, barely sparing a glance at Liam.

“I thought you’d be at the office till late,” Liam tried to make small talk as they walked in the apartment.

“I’m going back in a bit,” Mason said as he waited for Liam in order to close the door behind him. “Mr. Jenkins called to say there was a young man waiting for me at my door. I knew it had to be you.” Mason turned his back to Liam for a bit under the pretence of putting his keys in the bowl next to the door like he always did. He tried to stall, not knowing what was going to come out of his friend’s mouth. He had been imagining all kinds of scenarios all day while Liam was busy chasing after Theo Raeken and Mason was trying to contain a mess and he didn’t know what exactly he was containing. Either way, he did his job. More like was still doing his job.

He couldn’t stall any longer. He turned around and found Liam already sitting on one side of the corner couch. Mason went to the opposite one. Some distance could be the key at this moment. He couldn’t take the awkward silence any longer, and asked, “So, are you going to explain, or?”

Liam nodded repeatedly before licking his lips nervously, “I am. I just need you to listen, okay?” He looked at Mason with an innocent expression on his face begging him to listen and not judge or jump to any conclusions until he listened to the whole story. When Mason nodded, Liam began to explain.

He started on the night he met Theo during a case in Chicago. He told Mason about the night at the bar, about how connected he felt to Theo then, how he could feel something big forming between them, something neither of them could ignore. He told him about how much he had laughed, how much he had smiled, how different Theo had been with him, how gentle, how warm, how… loving if he dared say that. It made him smile as he recounted the story. It made him smile when he told Mason about how Liam accepted Theo’s invitation to his hotel room.

He didn’t share that many details of their night together. He blushed his way through that, just told him about the conversation after _things_ happened. But when it came time for him to describe the next morning, Liam choked. He took a breath and tried to keep the pain out of his words, begging himself not to cry. He recalled everything, but he didn’t say it all to Mason. There were some things he just couldn’t share, some feelings that belonged only to Liam. But he told him about the conversation with the juror and how he lost the case because of it. He also told Mason about how he thought that was Theo’s doing, Theo’s goal all along but now he wasn’t so sure. He told him about the bland year that followed with Theo pretending nothing happened between them and Liam going along with that even though it killed him inside. He told Mason how that memory with Theo had been a consolation more times than it should have despite the self-loathing Liam felt afterwards. He explained how he had wanted to tell Mason everything right from the start, but he didn’t because if he had, then it would make it real and Liam wanted to live in his bubble for as long as he could.

He also told Mason about the night Liam came home right after Theo had entered the race to find the other man in his living room and the conversation that followed. For some reason he didn’t mention the pristine white couch Theo got for him. He didn’t think it was important. He told Mason about the stories Theo’s PAC allegedly published in order to tarnish Liam’s reputation. He didn’t forget to mention about Theo keeping up his side of the deal – the only side that existed really – and how he smeared himself to make sure Liam was always still in the lead. He shared his worries about the truth behind those stories about Theo, about the heart transplant and his role in Hayden’s death as well as all the other rumours they had both heard. Mason didn’t have anything to say to that.

Finally, Liam told him about their latest conversation; about him storming madly into Theo’s campaign office, about yelling at him and pushing him with werewolf strength that Theo had resisted. He insisted that Theo didn’t leak anything about that night, in fact he had thought Liam had forgotten. Liam couldn’t understand how that was possible, but he moved on with his explanation. He told Mason that Theo was working for some dangerous people, dangerous like they-might-kill-Theo-for-helping-Liam kind of dangerous. Liam told him how Theo kept stressing the word _dread_ and Liam for the life of him could not figure out why. Mason had no ideas either. He finished with Theo’s promise to fix everything and how Theo told Liam he wasn’t who Liam thought. He shared with his best friend the dark feeling in the pit of his stomach, the worry that wouldn’t let him be. He admitted something bad was going to happen, he could feel it, and it was going to be his fault. He told him how Theo had run off in a black car and Liam didn’t know when he was going to see him again, if ever, which was a terrifying thought.

After he finished, Liam waited for Mason to say something, to do anything other than just stare at him with the nervous silence hanging in the air! He needed to know if Mason forgave him or not.

Mason got up and moved to sit next to his best friend, and after a minute of staring at his best friend incredulously, Mason had to ask, “Has that always been true or is this a recent development? Like since you visited Theo Raeken at his campaign office?” Since Liam still looked like a confused puppy, he added, “You know, you being in love with him.”

“What?! I’m not in – It was just one night!” Even if he hadn’t sputtered like that or gotten all red in the face, Mason still wouldn’t have believed him. Liam wasn’t sure he believed himself.

“Which has taken up your whole year,” Mason deadpanned. He nudged Liam’s shoulder with his own, urging him to not lie to himself for once, “Dude, admit it, you have feelings for him.”

“Wha- Okay –Maybe!” That was fast. Liam usually needed a lot more prodding than that when it came to his crushes. But he still couldn’t leave it at that. His face was practically on fire and his body still screamed defensiveness as he flailed around, but he conceded, “And it’s a big maybe here! But whatever it is, it’s not love.” It wasn’t love. It couldn’t _be_ love. Right?

Just for the record, Mason didn’t agree. He settled back on the sofa and patted his friend on the back patronizingly, “Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that.” He’d have to go back to the office in a bit. But he could spend a little more time with his friend. He had missed this for some reason. Mason had known there was a barrier between them. He was relieved to find that it was gone now. Things would turn out okay, he had to believe that.


	6. Chapter 6

Theo was in trouble. He knew that must be the case, because when they got to the blacksite, where the mission was operating out of that not even the FBI knew existed, Derek led Theo to one of the interrogation rooms upstairs instead of his office on the ground floor. Derek closed the door behind him, gesturing for Theo to take a seat. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t take out the handcuffs either, so Theo counted that as a plus.

It was barely two minutes after that, that Stiles walked in, fury clouding his scent but his body showing no sign of it. He stood next to Derek, leaning over Theo like he was just another criminal he was interrogating, his hands on the table to support himself. “What did you do, Theo?” When Theo stayed silent, Stiles went on undeterred, “This was supposed to be a simple assignment, run for Mayor just like the Dread Doctors wanted you to while you gathered intel about their plans and now, everything, _everything,_ is about to be blown to shit! So one last time, what. Did. You. Do?” No, Stiles didn’t look furious. He looked dangerous. And that was even worse Theo realized.

He didn’t let his wariness show though. Instead, he straightened his shoulders and clenched his jaw, giving the same reply he had given Liam a while ago. “I did what I had to.”

Derek was sitting silently next to Stiles, his arms crossed on his chest, looking at the scene unfolding in front of him silently. He only jumped in when he had something to say, a glint in his eye that made Theo feel like he was caught even though he didn’t believe it was possible at the time. Even then, Derek’s voice was soft, calm, grounding. “Does that have anything to do with Liam Dunbar?”

Theo shrugged, “It’s clear he’s going to win. I don’t want him to die. That’s all.” He tried his best to act all nonchalant about it, but Theo didn’t think Derek was buying his act. Somehow the older man always understood him, sometimes before Theo had the chance to understand himself.

“Is it?” Derek asked not taking his eyes off of Theo, his expression blank even though Theo could see his eyes wanted to frown at him. The skin between his eyebrows twitched.

“I was trying to protect him!” Theo insisted.

“By helping his campaign?” Derek’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but Theo heard him and he thought he would have even without his supernatural hearing. Derek’s presence always commanded his wolf’s attention.

But he still saw red because Derek just wouldn’t understand! “By protecting him!” Theo didn’t know how they knew that or for how long they had known. It wasn’t part of their plan. It was Theo’s personal crusade, one he’d never thought he’d need to share with anyone else. No one knew about Theo’s night with Liam other than the Dread Doctors. At least no one in the FBI gave any indication they knew. But that night Theo had fallen, and he had fallen hard. He had crossed the line and walked so far away from it that he couldn’t even see it anymore behind him. The moment he heard of the scientists’ plan, the candidacy for the next Mayor had been well underway and Liam had already been first in line. So Theo did what he does best. He manipulated events, used the circumstances to serve his own purpose. He gave in to the Dread Doctors’ request to run for the seat, he convinced the FBI it was the best move that would get them to the finish line, he covered up his tracks and planned everything down to a T. He just hadn’t counted on people catching up to him. “He’s in your pack, isn’t he?!” Theo suddenly explodes, getting up from his seat, banging his fists on the table. The other agents didn’t even flinch. “Shouldn’t you be doing everything to keep him safe?!”

“He’s Stiles’.” Derek said that as if the distinction was important, as if it was something Theo needed to remember. Theo didn’t know how they did that; he knew the two agents had been together for years, but he didn’t know how they did that without being part of the same pack. Theo wouldn’t know anyway because he didn’t have a pack , no matter that his wolf wanted Derek to be his pack.

“We are, Theo.” Stiles spoke softly then, for once the expression on his face turning into one of understanding, as if he could possibly understand the turmoil of emotions Theo was feeling at the thought of Liam gone.

Theo snorted, he couldn’t help it. “Oh, yeah, tremendous job, Stiles. Now they ruined his life!”

Stiles’ expression hardened again, as if the accusation set off a protective instinct inside of him that told him to defend himself, his pack. Stiles pointed at him, as if his words weren’t enough to accuse Theo properly, “ _You_ brought this on him. Not us.”

Before Theo could give up in defeat, before he could accept responsibility for all his actions had caused, Derek spoke up. “No, he didn’t.” Before Stiles could argue, he continued, “It was going to happen either way. Liam’s been in the lead from the start and they want Theo to win.” He pinned Theo with a look then, one that resembled a stern parent scolding his child, “But whatever you did changed their plans and now we have no idea what they’re going to do and you sure as hell can’t find out.”

“I can try,” Theo tried to sway Derek’s decision.

“Not without dying,” Stiles snorted, understanding what Derek meant and knowing he shouldn’t be mad at Theo. From what he gathered, there was a lot more going on between him and Liam than Theo was willing to share. Sure, all he had heard from Liam when it came to Theo had been complaints about how much of an asshole lawyer he was. But now that he thought about it, he should have seen that spark in his eyes, how much more alive he looked when he talked about Theo, even when he was bad mouthing him. Shaking his head, Stiles thought he would have done the same thing in Theo’s place.

“It’s w-”

Derek was suddenly growling, flashing his eyes at him, Theo cowered in submission. “If you say it’s worth it, I’ll rip your throat out. With my teeth.”

Stiles looked shocked at Derek’s reaction. Sure, they had talked about it, how protective of Theo Derek was, how he sometimes saw himself, his mistakes in the other man. But this was new. It reminded Stiles of an Alpha protecting his pack. But Derek wasn’t an alpha anymore. Still, there was no mistaking that reaction. Stiles tried to break the tension in the room, as the two creatures of the night stared at each other, communicating in a way Stiles could never really understand. So he did what he does best in these situations. He started rambling. “You should be honoured. He usually only uses that line on me, when I’m being particularly stupid. Which means you’re being stupid enough for Derek to tell you you’re being stupid without using his words.”

It worked because Theo looked at him, then, all confused instead of continuing his staring contest with Derek. “Was that supposed to make sense?”

“Jesus,” Stiles sighed, looking disbelievingly at the other men. He shook his head, not even wanting to delve into _that_ explanation, “I’m surrounded by oblivious idiots.” Really if he had anything to hit his head with other than this metal table which would presumably hurt really really bad, he’d do it. For now he tried to get the conversation back on track, “Look, you’re not going back there. In fact you’re not going anywhere at all. We’ll find a way, okay?” When no one seemed to want to offer his two cents, Stiles got up to go back to his office, to untangling this whole mess. But Theo’s voice stopped him just as he opened the door.

“I’m sorry,” Theo said before Stiles could walk out. Theo knew he had messed up big time. He could have blown everything up. This was the first chance the FBI had gotten in years to put away the Dread Doctors for good and if Theo ruined it, he didn’t know if they would ever get another. This whole thing started because Theo was tired of being used, of painting his hands with blood, of being a killer without his will. It all started so the Dread Doctors could be stopped. And Theo had almost trapped himself in this limbo for the rest of time, but he would  be short lived if the Doctors found out he was working for the FBI. In the grand scheme of things, he risked the lives of thousands for the life of one. He should be sorry for that.

Stiles sighed, “No, you’re not.”

Theo shook his head, because for once Stiles was wrong. Theo was sorry… partially. “I am sorry for messing up, but I’m not sorry for protecting him.” He wasn’t going to stop either. He’d find a way; he knew the three of them would.

 

* * *

 

Mason had to go back to the office at some point. He had to figure something out to untangle this mess they were in. Just thinking about it made his head hurt; he was dreading going through the polls once again. Liam’s popularity had reached its peak with those articles but not in the way any of them was hoping for. He had left Corey in charge for a while; he needed that talk with Liam. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to figure this out on his own.

He hated that he left Corey to face this alone surrounded by interns and people who didn’t know Liam’s heart. He knew first-hand how difficult it was reading the worst things the internet could unearth about your best friend, regardless if they were true or not. Even Mason didn’t know what to think and Liam had told him the truth. He didn’t want Corey to go through doubt about the people closest to him. Corey didn’t trust people easily and it took him a long time to fully trust Liam. He didn’t want that to change.

God, who was he kidding?! Everything was changing around them and there was no way to control it, no way to stop it. Mason hated that. He hated that Liam was hurting. He hated that his best friend had fallen in love and got his heart ripped out of his chest and Mason hadn’t even _known_ to help him through it. He hadn’t been there for Liam then and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. He would fix this. Liam was going to win the race and he was going to be the youngest Mayor in Beacon Hills, Mason would make sure of that.

So he walked into the campaign office and found Corey in Liam’s designated space. He was holding a tablet in his hands which was connected to the big screen in front of him. Something must be going on if Corey was seeking out privacy like this, taking all the weight on himself. He watched as his boyfriend tried to take information in as fast as the screen could show it to him. Corey wasn’t used to this like Mason was. Corey was used to numbers and algorithms and probabilities, not underlying meanings and metaphors. “Hey, what’s up?” Mason asked, finally announcing his presence.

Corey turned to Mason right away, a worried expression taking over his features. ”You talked to Liam?”

Mason nodded, “Yeah, I did.”

“How is he?”

Mason sighed. He didn’t know how to explain. They talked, they said a lot, Liam admitted a lot but he still didn’t know how he was really feeling. Liam was always trying not to worry him, not to burden him with his emotions thinking he was going to be okay in the end so Mason didn’t really need to know. He couldn’t tell you how many times Mason had slapped him over the head for thinking like that, argued with him, comforted him. Nothing worked, Liam still thought his feelings weren’t important. So if he had to guess, Mason would say Liam was way worse than he let on. “I don’t really know. He kept talking about how Raeken told him that we’re being watched or something and that he works for people that spread _dread_. He kept emphasizing that word for some reason. Liam said he wants us to be careful. Anyway, I can’t even – I can’t even think about that stuff,” he said flailing around. The more he thought about all he learned today, the more he freaked out and someone needed to stay calm. “I need a distraction. What’s going on here?” Mason turned to go away, pick his tablet but Corey stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned around and the expression on his boyfriend’s face made his heart skip a beat and not in a good way.

“Dread? Are you sure he said dread?”

Corey was looking at him with wide eyes and a fearful expression and Mason was freaking out even more. He frowned at the other man, “Yeah, why?” Corey broke eye contact, preferring the ground for a minute, but Mason could see him swallowing anxiously. He touched his arm, hoping it was comforting for the other man, “Corey? You’re scaring me.”

Corey looked up at him then, biting his lip. He should say something, shouldn’t he? “You should be scared. I think Theo is right.”

Mason looked at him incredulously at the tone of intimacy the candidate’s name held. “Theo? Corey, do you know anything about this?” Mason was confused. He could see Corey biting his lip again, contemplating if he should talk or not. Mason hoped he would.

“Remember when I told you some mad scientists created me, the Dread Doctors?” Corey said after a moment of hesitation. He waited for Mason to nod before he said, “They are the same people Theo works for.”

Mason was even more confused now. “I don’t understand. Liam said they were political fixers.” Liam had found their name mentioned in one of the cases he worked on as an ADA, but once he found out what their occupation was,, he let it go. Political fixers had their own rules which never went with the law, but there was never any trace to follow either.

Corey was looking at him with those wide eyes, trying to get him to understand and Mason was struggling to keep up and catalogue all the information coming at him, “They’re that too. They’re everything. They’re called the Dread Doctors and they have been turning teenagers into supernatural creatures for longer than I’ve been alive.”

“What? What is that supposed to mean?” How old were these guys?

“They’re like immortal,” Corey tried to explain with a shrug. Honestly, he still didn’t know exactly how their age surpassed a whole century, but that’s what Theo had told them. “They’ve been creating their own army, using teenagers desperate for control to do their dirty work.”

Mason looked at him calculatingly. If that was true, if they created Corey, then that meant… but no. Corey was with them, with the good guys. Corey was a good guy. “But you’re here. You’re working with us.”

Corey hesitated. He was worried Mason was going to change his mind when he told him the truth. But if Liam was right, if Theo was right and if the Dread Doctors had their sight on Liam, then Mason deserved to know. He had to keep Mason safe and giving him all the information was the only way to do that. “Yeah, but I worked for them first.” He saw Mason’s shock written on his face and he didn’t want it to turn into fear or disgust or worse. He hurried through an explanation, his voice getting high pitched as fear overcame him –fear not of the Dread Doctors but of Mason’s opinion of him. “They- they created me. I didn’t know what I was! I was scared and they wouldn’t tell me. They wouldn’t help me control it until I did things first! I spent days at a time invisible not knowing how to turn back. They were the only ones who could help, them and…” This was the part he hesitated the most to reveal. “Theo.”

“Theo?!”

“Yeah. As far as I know they’ve had Theo ever since he was a kid. Pretty sure he was raised in the sewers they had us live in.” Theo never talked about his childhood, but there were moments the mask would slip and Corey’s heart would break a little at what was revealed.

“The sewers?! Jesus.” Mason took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing even though he knew Corey was telling the truth. “Okay. Okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair. This would make sense eventually. It had to. Wait, did that mean Theo was a chimera too? Mason knew Liam thought Theo was of the supernatural persuasion after their fight, but _this…_ sort-of-supernatural armies and pseudoscientists using said armies full of teenagers was a pill too hard to swallow. He took another deep breath, “Please continue.” He was ready to hear more. Had he said that out loud, his heart would have skipped a beat.

“Theo was my alpha. He- he saved me, Mason. His brain almost outsmarted the Dread Doctors.” He looked Mason in the eye. He knew Mason didn’t have the best opinion of Theo Raeken and Corey had never tried to change it before, but Mason needed to understand why Theo was the way he was. Corey was the closest person capable of explaining. “He saved us.”

Mason raised an eyebrow at him, “Us?”

Corey gulped at the memories no one knew he carried. He licked his lips nervously before continuing, “There were five of us in our pack. And Theo sacrificed himself to get us out.”

“What do you mean he sacrificed himself?” Mason was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Corey’s face turned soft, his mouth settling on a self-deprecating turn of the lips, everything of his composure screaming sadness and regret. “He stayed so that we could go.”

“Why was that such a sacrifice?”

Corey’s expression didn’t change. His body got even more agitated. He was shaking his head; he didn’t know if it was at Mason or at the memories threatening to consume him all over again. “You don’t know the things they did Mason. Sometimes – sometimes I can still hear his screams.” He could; he could hear claws hitting metal as he fought for their attention and his life at the same time, electricity cackling in the air, Theo screaming as the Dread Doctors overtook him; he simply wasn’t strong enough to defeat them, none of them were. “But he told us to run and he- I was scared, I was terrified, I couldn’t - we couldn’t take them. “

He didn’t know if he was trying to explain or excuse himself anymore. But there was one thing for sure, “The Dread Doctors they are dangerous Mason. And if Theo is in trouble, I’m not going to watch from the sidelines. I can’t. I won’t. I owe him that much, Mason. I owe myself that much.” He knew the moment Theo entered the race there was going to be trouble. He knew Theo hadn’t escaped the Dread Doctors, he couldn’t possibly. He was well aware they were still using Theo and Corey still stayed away, he stayed out of it. But Theo had saved him once and if he was in trouble, Corey wasn’t going to betray him again. Because that’s what leaving Theo felt like; betrayal of the worst kind.

Mason looked at Corey carefully. Everything in him told him to disagree, to shield Corey from the whole thing, to grab him and lock him in the room. But he looked determined. The thing was that he didn’t look determined to save the world. He looked determined to save a friend and Mason had to ask, “Is Theo your pack?”

Corey shrugged innocently, “We didn’t get along much, we disagreed on a lot of things, but in some way, he’ll always be my pack.” Theo had always been stronger than Corey, more daring, fearless. He always tried to make Corey push his limits; take him out of his shell. Corey hadn’t been ready for that, but that wasn’t Theo’s fault.

“Do you trust him?”

“I do. I trust him,” Corey didn’t hesitate this time. If there was one thing he knew, then, “I’d trust him with your life.”

Mason nodded. That was enough for him. He knew there was nothing to stop Corey. And as much as Mason wanted to, it wouldn’t be fair to do it. Corey wanted to do this for Theo as much as for himself. He understood that. Sure, he hated it, but he understood. “Liam said he disappeared in a black car.”

“I’ll find him.” Corey kissed him in a way that left Mason breathless, in a way that made him wish they weren’t in a campaign office and that Corey wasn’t leaving to look for his ex-Alpha. It didn’t feel like goodbye, it felt like a promise to come back. But a kiss wasn’t enough. Mason needed to hear the words. He needed to hear Corey make the promise out loud so that he could hold him to it.

So when he saw Corey turn to leave, he called out, “Corey, wait!” He waited for the other man to turn back to continue, “Whatever you do, just come back to me.”

A small smile took over his lips then and he couldn’t help saying, “I’ll always come back to you.” And just like that, Corey was gone, on the hunt for a chimera like him, hoping he wasn’t too late.

 

* * *

 

Mason worked day and night to fix the chaos. After their talk, where Liam explained everything worth mentioning, Liam realized Theo had disappeared. There was no sign of him anywhere, Liam had taken no more hits to his reputation either. But Mason was here working his ass off to fix something Theo was supposed to have taken care of. Liam stood at the doorway of his best friend’s office. This was the second night in a row he had sacrificed sleep to work. Liam hated how tired he looked. He hated that he had kept this from him, hadn’t even told him in a professional capacity to be ready if anything happened. He hated what he was putting his best friend through. This wasn’t meant to happen. “Mason, go home.” There was no fixing this. It had spread like wildfire and Liam was afraid no one could put it out.

Mason sighed, tried to keep in the frustration he felt for his best friend. “Liam, shut up and let me work, okay? You are not losing this race.”

Mason acted as if he wasn’t there after that. Maybe he hadn’t even noticed he was still here. Mason had always been his biggest supporter. When Liam had decided to run for Mayor, Mason was already working on some huge campaign. But he dropped it. He quit just to help Liam. Because he was the only one who understood him, who knew his values and why they had been instilled in him. He knew him better than anyone, he was the only person who could say he knew Liam. Well, almost. But that was Liam’s fault. And Liam couldn’t help but feel extremely grateful to whatever deity was out there watching him.

So, if Mason was going to burn the midnight oil, then so was Liam. He still had speeches scheduled and there had never been more requests for interviews before. Maybe there was something he could do too, some way to help salvage whatever was left. He went back to his office, poured two fingers of scotch, just like he had heard great politicians did. He burned his throat trying to take a sip, sputtering and coughing as it refused to go down smoothly. Yeah, there was no way he could drink this stuff. So he grabbed a can of coke and emptied almost half of it into his glass. He took a sip again and sighed. Yes, much better. Some liquid courage and he could get to work. Right?

Wrong.

Liam couldn’t concentrate. He stared at the blank page in front of him that he had to fill with positive words for tomorrow’s speech, but his mind kept slipping to thoughts of Theo. He couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t control it. He hadn’t heard a word from the other man. Not that that wasn’t usually the case, but at least there was _always_ something out there about him, a sighting, an interview, something tangible, something that would help Liam believe he was okay. But what if he wasn’t? That was the most likely scenario in this case, right? What if Theo was in trouble actually trying to fix Liam’s mess while Liam was sitting here with a blank page worrying out of his mind?

A sudden knock on his door made him jump out of his skin.

“Hey, why aren’t you home yet?”

It was just Mason checking up on him. Liam didn’t know how much time had passed. It seemed like it was only five minutes ago he was telling Mason the same thing give or take. He meant to ask what time it was, but his useless brain to mouth filter had other ideas. “Do you think he’s dead?”

Mason looked at his best friend for a moment. He hadn’t told him what Corey had said right after he came back to the office from his conversation with Liam. He didn’t think it would help him any. He knew it would get into his best friend’s head that he’d had to help somehow and he would distrust Corey immediately. That wouldn’t help anyone; Liam would be in trouble and he’d lose a friendship that took a long time to form. There were some things Liam just didn’t need to know. He chuckled at his best friend’s question, not harshly but amused forgetting for a moment that he probably knew more about Theo than Liam himself. He stopped at Liam’s glare and tried to explain as best as he could, “I’m sorry. I just can’t see Theo Raeken dying. He’s too smart for that.” That’s what Corey had said. His unique thinking had saved them all even if he had to sacrifice himself in the process.

Liam shook his head at what he perceived as Mason’s naivety and endless optimism. He knew Theo was smart, “But he’s also feeling too much” he had seen that, he had seen it in his eyes when they argued, the passion, the whirling emotions, and that night at the hotel Theo’s eyes had never been empty. “And when people feel too much they slip up, or make mistakes or get reckless. You didn’t see him, Mase.” Liam had and Liam couldn’t take that image out of his head. “He-He’s different.” That was the best way to explain it. Liam shook his head to himself, “I shouldn’t have judged him. I was wrong. I was so wrong on so many levels, I just-”

Liam was getting lost in his guilt, in his self-pity and Mason couldn’t let him go down that spiral. He stepped closer to Liam, put his hands on his shoulders and squeezed lightly to get him out of his head and smiled softly at him, “Hey, I don’t know the person you’re talking about,” he didn’t know the person Corey had talked about either. It was hard for the opinions the other two had about him to fit with Mason’s own opinion of Theo, but he would try for them. There seemed to be layers Theo Raeken hid well and Mason was ready to give him a second and a third and hundredth chance if he made Liam happy, “But I’d love to meet him.”

Liam looked at him then with unshed tears, the pain in his eyes like physical cuts on Mason’s body. Liam was hurting and Mason hated that. “But what if-”

Mason knew what he was thinking about, but no. No way. Neither of them were going to think such thoughts. Corey would find Theo. He was looking. He would help him. They would wrap this whole thing up and they would both come back here to fall into their arms. But for now, Mason and Liam only had each other. So Mason wrapped his arms around his best friend, letting him take whatever comfort he could offer, trying to reassure them both as he insisted, “Don’t. You can’t think like that. Theo is fine. He’s going to come back.”

 

* * *

 

The next day Mason and Liam were in the latter’s office watching TV after an impromptu sleepover that hadn’t happened in almost 8 years, using the scratchy blanket Liam kept on his couch for emergencies. They were lying on the floor now, backs supported by the couch as they stared at an emergency news program that had interrupted their cartoon time. They both stared in shock at the headline.

_BREAKING NEWS: MAYOR CANDIDATES’ COLLUSION CONFIRMED_

_“We’re sorry to interrupt our previous program, but we have received word from the District’s Attorney’s office that criminal charges will be made against the Mayor Candidates Liam Dunbar and Theo Raeken, or ‘the virtuous and the snake’ as people have taken to call them. According to an anonymous source, the DA has found evidence of collusion between the two men that they believe will bring justice to their actions and to the citizens of Beacon Hills. We have the District Attorney willing to say a few words on the investigation. Mrs. Martin.”_

_“I have no comment on an ongoing investigation, but I can say whatever signs there are, we will examine every option until we reach the truth.”_

_“Is that all you can say, Ms. Martin? My sources say Theo Raeken made an expensive gift to Mr. Dunbar. Doesn’t that count as payment exchanging hands?”_

_“May I remind you Mrs. Greenberg, that your information has been illegally acquired?”_

_“That’s not true.”_

_“Isn’t it?”_

_“Thank you, Ms. Martin, for your time.”_

The reporter and Lydia kept going back and forth but after the reporter mentioned ‘an expensive gift’ Liam’s mind went into overdrive and he groaned when he realized what they were talking about. “The couch.” Great. His campaign was going another ten steps backwards because of a stupid white couch that Liam was sure Theo bought him as a joke.

“What couch?!” Mason asked from next to him almost frantic as he was trying to find ways to explain the expensive gift. Should he explain it? It was better not to comment on it, right? Probably. Plausible deniability was the best course of action for now.

“Theo bought me a stupid couch the first time he came over.”

Mason looked at him incredulously, his mind panicking, “And you didn’t think to mention that?! You made a deal with the devil and actually accepted a gift from him? A gift with a probably existing paper trail? Have I taught you nothing all these years?!”

Liam groaned again. They must have looked into Theo’s financials. The idiot must have paid for it himself and they probably found the receipt. Liam had hosted interviews in his home with the freaking white couch right there in the frame! “But I have you for those things!” Liam whined. Mason always had his back. He was always the practical and rational part of his mind.

Mason looked at him as if he was crazy. “Liam, you’re the lawyer.”

Right, he was. He should have recognized a crime when he committed one. But honestly, he was much better at defending or prosecuting one than staying out of action. And he was going to defend himself against this one. Liam was a good lawyer. No need to hire another one.

“Also, why didn’t Lydia call first?” Mason asked nobody in particular as he got up to get his tablet from Liam’s desk.

“You know it’s illegal to warn me about it.”

Mason glared at him and he knew what that look meant. It was his angry one, the one that said _you think?_  In the angriest tone Mason could ever manage. He hadn’t gotten that look since they were teenagers. Hell, he didn’t even get it when he told him about Theo.

Shit. That meant trouble, didn’t it? Liam decided to not speak unless Mason told him to for good measure.

Mason walked to the small closet in Liam’s office and got out his emergency suit, throwing it at the other man, “Get your ass in this and go see Lydia. We need to contain this.”

When Liam went to protest, Mason held up a finger to quiet him, “The only way you’re losing this race is over my dead body. Now go.” He went back to the tablet and Liam started stripping right there. Nothing Mason hadn’t seen before. He didn’t care. He got dressed quickly and got Mason’s car keys out of his pocket while the other man was engrossed in his tablet.

Liam wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t going to visit the DA when all the spotlight would be on him. Instead he called her from a burner, not wanting to give her more evidence to use against him. He arranged a meeting with her in a dark alley where he knew they wouldn’t be interrupted. Lydia followed the law, but she always protected her pack. Now that those worlds were colliding right in front of her, Liam didn’t know what she was going to do.


	7. Chapter 7

Theo had been stuck on the blacksite for the past three days and he was sure there were more days, maybe months, to follow. Derek and Stiles didn’t let him do anything, except brainstorm ideas out of this mess with them. He couldn’t even go out to grab a bite to eat for hell’s sake! The first time he tried the alarm blared, the facility went into lockdown and a SWAT team surrounded Theo in seconds. Derek had scowled at him for the rest of the day. Yes, they kept reminding him that they couldn’t protect him if he stepped foot outside, but he was going crazy in here! He needed another kind of stimulation rather than the stupid TV. Pretty sure he had watched every movie they had on hand including _Mean Girls._ Yeah, that had been a cultural lesson.

He felt like a prisoner, damn it. And he probably was and it wasn’t the first time. At least, he wasn’t getting tortured this time. Which was something, admittedly.

He was sprawled on the couch in the break room. He had been allowed out of the interrogation room right after Stiles had promised him they would find another way other than him going back to the Dread Doctors. He was just changing channels, trying to find anything good on the TV when the news interrupted every single program in all the channels this TV could access.

He froze, his blood boiling as he saw Lydia on TV making accusations that couldn’t possibly be fruitful. Theo had covered his tracks. He was good at that. The only way someone could connect the damn couch to Theo was if you actively looked for it. Which meant someone did, and Theo knew there was only one person who would do that and he was currently in this building.

 

* * *

 

 

Theo felt a growl start from deep in his chest and he barely held it back as he burst into Stiles’ office, the door slamming into the wall, as he shouted angrily, “What the hell were you thinking?!”

Stiles to his credit didn’t jump, but he looked at the other man with a wariness that hadn’t been directed towards Theo since he stepped foot in the FBI’s headquarters. Derek was leaning against the desk looking bored at the whole scene. He probably expected Theo to react this way because there was no way they didn’t know the freaking DA was pressing charges against their pack member.

 _Stiles’ pack member,_ a voice tried to remind him. He didn’t pay attention to it.

Before any of them could say anything, Lydia Martin, the DA, strutted into the room, graceful in impossible heels as always, putting her phone back in her designer handbag, speaking without really looking at any of them. “Liam caught the bait. We’re meeting in 30 minutes.” She finally looked up and when she found Theo standing before her, she raised an eyebrow at him, “Theo, good to see you’re back.”

Theo took a step forward, growling, fangs out, eyes flashing. The next moment Derek was right in front of him, a deep rumble sounding from his chest and a hand on Theo’s sternum that wasn’t using any force to hold him back. He didn’t need to. For some reason Theo stopped moving, an instinct deep inside of him responding to Derek’s call. His fangs didn’t go back in though and his eyes kept flashing, his gaze locked on Lydia standing there unimpressed. Somehow, that pissed him off even more; he wasn’t used to being out of the loop. “Bait? What the hell is she talking about.” Theo directed the stated question to the other two agents, even if his eyes didn’t leave the threat in the room.

Lydia was even more unimpressed if that was even possible. “I’m right here.”

Theo didn’t bother telling her he didn’t really care. Instead, he growled again, and the hand on his chest became firmer. He didn’t know if it was a warning or a request, either way his wolf backed off. But not before growling at Stiles, “Stiles what did you do?”

“He’s saving Liam’s campaign,” Derek’s soft tone didn’t fit in this conversation. It still felt soothing to Theo’s wolf.

Theo snapped to him then, fangs receding, eyes returning back to their normal colour. “How? By bringing criminal charges against him?”

Stiles was the one to answer that one. “By letting him clear his name in front of a jury.” As if that cleared everything up.

It was as if Derek could understand his confusion, his anger, his doubt. He held his gaze, flashing his own eyes at him just once to get his attention. Once he was sure Theo was listening, he urged him, to think, to play this out in his head. “Think, Theo. Right now, everyone is out to get him one way or another.” He felt Theo tense at the words. It was the truth, either because of the public, the press or the Dread Doctors, Liam had nowhere to turn. Theo seemed to understand, but Derek still felt like he had to reassure him of their intentions. “We don’t know how to stop the Dread Doctors yet, but we can help him get out of this mess.”

Theo frowned at them, still pissed, but the anger wasn’t boiling over anymore. It was just his pride keeping it alive. “Is that even legal?” As far as he knew, the FBI couldn’t endorse any candidate. It never got involved.

Lydia glared at him then, as if he was the whole reason they were even here. He probably was. “You bought him a damn couch.”

That made the anger flare back up. His pride hurt at the insinuation Theo hurt Liam deliberately. Maybe Lydia didn’t mean it that way. But his wolf was offended because although the pain he caused Liam wasn’t deliberate, he still hurt him. “Are you saying I did this?!” he yelled at her, pushing forward once again, but Derek barely let him move.

Stiles snorted at his reaction, still standing behind his desk now with his arms crossed. “You’ve done a lot of shitty things, but this wasn’t one of them.” He looked at him honestly, his expression open like it rarely was around Theo, “This might actually save his career.”

“If Liam wins the case,” Lydia insisted.

“He will.” Going by the roll of Stiles’ eyes, this wasn’t the first time this argument had happened.

Lydia turned to glare at Stiles, her tone holding no regret and an imminent warning that they all needed to realize, “Stiles. I am not throwing this case. Liam needs to bring his best game or else he’s going to jail.”

Stiles didn’t seem worried about this. He shook his head in confidence, “Don’t worry. He’ll be motivated enough. We have the right person for it.”

Theo couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop his mouth from moving even if he wanted to. If there was a chance to see Liam again, see him soon, he had to offer. “I could do it. I-I could try.” His voice had never been more innocent, more bashful. He tried not to blush under the others gaze. Derek stepped back now, but still stayed close just in case, his expression softening as Theo almost closed in on himself.

Stiles knew why Theo was offering, he could imagine how he was feeling. There were many times when Derek had been in trouble, that he wanted to follow head in, that he wanted to be there for him but knowing Derek’s overprotectiveness, he would only serve as a distraction. Still he always thought being close was better than keeping his distance. Now with a clear head he knew such thing wasn’t true, especially with Liam’s anger issues. “No. You’ll get him hot headed, and when he’s hot headed he get angry, and when he’s angry he fucks up. We need him focused.”

Stiles could see the other man shrinking back. It was a reaction that didn’t go along with the Theo he knew. It felt wrong. It made him feel like he had to fix it, like he had to say something to take that weight off Theo’s shoulders, make the guilt easier. Stiles sighed, and Theo’s eyes snapped up to him at the sound. “Look, Liam feels things, okay? Sometimes he feels too much but he never lets it show. If he sees you again, he won’t be able to let you go and that will only distract him.” He hoped Theo understood. It was the only way he could express himself.

Stiles took his phone out of his pocket and typed something in, Theo didn’t know what. He understood where Stiles was coming from, but he still wanted to see Liam. Seeing his face on TV as people slammed his integrity wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t even know what Liam thought of him now. Liam probably didn’t want him anywhere near him. Why would he?

Theo didn’t let his mind dwell on this. He knew Derek had picked up on all the guilt he was feeling right from the start; he was the one that gave him a chance after all. He didn’t want him to know it hadn’t let up. Derek probably knew already, but if Theo had to lie to himself once more to keep his sanity, he would do it. He turned to look at Lydia then, who was looking impatiently at Stiles. He finally realized something, “You’re in on this?”

Stiles snorted at that. He didn’t look up from his phone as he said with a smirk on his face, “Who do you think told her about the couch? Jeez, did the TV fry your brain or something?”

Theo tried not to get angry again. He stopped the growl from even forming, hiding his agitation from everyone in the room. He hated that Liam had to go through this. But as it all played out in his head, he found they were right. The only way for Liam to get back on his feet and win this race was if the law approved of him first.

“Stiles,” Derek sighed, putting a hand on the bridge of his nose just as he had done many times before when Stiles was being impossible.

Stiles rolled his eyes then and looked at Derek. “Fine. I won’t hurt your precious wolf.” Theo could almost see an epiphany coming as he turned to look at him puzzled, “Wait are you a wolf or a coyote?”

Derek sighed again and Theo raised his eyebrows at him. “Both.” Wasn’t that known already?

Stiles rolled his eyes again. Seriously, the guy would damage his optic nerve or something if he kept this up. “No shit Sherlock. I mean your full shift,” Stiles explained, his hands flailing almost dropping the phone.

Theo’s other eyebrow joined the first one high on his forehead as he looked at Stiles, “Still both.”

Lydia snapped her fingers in front of Stiles’ face then, her voice dripping with sarcasm, bathed in urgency and leaving no room for argument. “Stiles. Please get back on track. Liam needs to win this.”

Stiles blinked at her, “Right. Yes. Okay.” He pushed a few more buttons on his phone and then he was moving across the room, his phone pressed against his ear, “Excuse me, I have a phone call to make.”

Theo looked at Lydia closely as Stiles left the room. He knew of her reputation. When the Dread Doctors were hell bent on getting the True Alpha’s power, he had learned everything there was to know about his pack, including Lydia. He hadn’t interacted with them at all but he knew Lydia was insanely smart and she didn’t lose. Her reputation as a fearless and merciless DA followed her everywhere she went. “Are you sure you’re willing to lose? Your reputation will not be zero to infinity anymore.”

Lydia raised an eyebrow at him, “Who said I’m going to lose?”

“I did.” He didn’t even have to fake the confidence in his voice, or the smirk on his face. He knew Liam was going to win. He was meant to win. He was stronger than everyone gave him credit for. He wasn’t the puppy everyone treated him as, he hadn’t been for a long time.

Lydia looked at him carefully, put her handbag on her elbow, obviously preparing to leave as she said, “Well, you better be right because this is something I can’t save him from. I have to go.” She pointed at Derek next, “Make sure Stiles upholds his part of the deal.”

 

* * *

 

Liam was waiting in his car in the dark alley they had agreed on. It was a little after noon, but the tall buildings surrounding the little street didn’t let much light through. The dark windows of his car didn’t make it any better. He didn’t hear the pair of high heels coming his way; Liam was too lost in his own head for that. He was thinking about why Lydia was doing this, how she could be doing this to her own pack, the one they had all sworn to protect at any cost. Liam’s face was plastered on every TV program, a bunch of charges rolling underneath and speculations that not even half of them were true. He did hear the car door open and close gently, which brought him out of his traitorous thoughts. He didn’t dare to look at Lydia as he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, the only emotion he could come up with at this point. “Now you’re going after fellow District Attorneys?”

Lydia waited though, she waited until Liam turned to look at her to respond, his lips pinched in a frown, either anger or hurt or maybe both. Her voice was both soft and reprimanding at the same time as she reminded him, “You’re not a District Attorney anymore, Liam. You’re running for Mayor. “

“Yes and you know I’m good for this!” He burst out. He had thought he had his pack’s support. They all said so. Yes, Lydia did not endorse his campaign, she wanted to remain neutral and Liam understood that. But she had promised she would always have his back. This didn’t really feel like she did.

Her voice became impassive, professional, and Liam hated it. “What I know is that you’re colluding with Theo Raeken, another Mayor candidate.”

Liam opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to believe what he was hearing. He paused. He knew this kind of play.This wasn’t his first rodeo. Lydia had taught him that move when he was still an intern. “Did you just try to trap me into commenting on an ongoing investigation against me? One that I haven’t been officially charged with? You know that’s not going to work.”

Lydia smirked then.  Her look sharp the way it was when she was impressed or satisfied, which had rarely been directed at Liam. “Good. Because if it had, I’d be worried.”

Liam was confused now. “What? Lydia, what are you talking about?” He thought the point of this was to catch him red handed or something, not compliment him. Granted, it was a back-handed compliment, but this was Lydia. The woman never let any weakness show, even if that meant affection.

Lydia sighed tiredly, looking out the window momentarily as if she was trying to pick her words carefully. She then turned back towards Liam and admitted, “Look, I’ve been getting a lot of pressure to take this case and after your last stunt my hands are tied.” Lydia shook her head in regret, “I can’t protect you anymore, Liam.” The words sounded like both a warning and an apology.

Liam was trying to understand what she was talking about. So much had happened in the past few days and Liam hadn’t had any time to process it all. He was still cataloguing it all in his mind: the dreams, the reality, the nightmares. “What stunt?” He frowned in confusion, but then his memory caught up with the present and his face cleared, finally clued into the conversation. “You mean the headlines? Lydia, I-”

Lydia raised a hand to silence him, “Save it for the courtroom.” This wasn’t the right place to have it all out. Whatever Liam said, Lydia would have to consider it to build the case against him and she was good at her job. She was known for winning from nothing and she didn’t want to put her friend’s life in jeopardy. Unethical or not, Lydia would not condemn a member of her pack to disgrace or even worse, jail, especially a friend that had saved her life more times than she could ever repay him for.

Liam looked at her calculatingly, “You know I’m going to win right?” They were bullshit charges and they both knew it. The evidence was circumstantial at best and even though Lydia had won cases with less, Liam wasn’t going to let her this time.

Lydia raised an eyebrow at him and took the sun visor down to look in the mirror as she got her Dior lipstick out of her bag. She fixed her makeup as she said, “I never have before.”

Miraculously, she didn’t smear it one bit. It was flawless before and it was flawless after. Liam didn’t know why she even bothered to fix it.

“I’ve never been against you before,” Liam reminded her.

“Oh, you have,” Lydia said fixing invisible lines on her lips. “Remember that death row in college? That was my protégé you were up against.”

Liam snorted. “I wiped the floor with him.”

He had. Lydia had wanted him to back then as well. Or more like hoped he would. It was his test run to see if he’d fit in the District Attorney’s office and Lydia had been glad to be proved right. The kid fit like a glove. She never told him though, and had no intention to ever do so. “Well, I don’t make rookie mistakes, darling.”

“Neither do I,” Liam replied automatically.

Lydia turned to look at him then, her expression hiding more than Liam was ready for, “Don’t you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He got defensive, he couldn’t control it. Lydia was hiding something from him intentionally. She wanted him to figure something out but Liam had no idea what that was and it irritated him.

But Lydia didn’t clarify her statement. Instead, she patted his knee condescendingly and said, “See you in court, puppy. Also, you’re charged with collusion and conspiracy against the government.” She handed him a folded piece of paper as she left the car, the door slamming closed behind her.

“Governme-  wha- Lydia!” Lydia was gone like the wind and Liam was left there in the car with a piece of paper stating his official charge. As he skimmed down the page, Liam realized this was worse than he thought. Whatever Lydia had, Liam was nowhere near ready for this. He couldn’t go to jail. He couldn’t give up his family, his friends,… _Theo._ He couldn’t let the people that believed in him down, even if the ones that were left he could count on one hand. But if Liam didn’t win this, he was going to let them down and Liam didn’t know how to deal with that possibility.

 

* * *

 

Liam couldn’t remember the last time he got to hang around at home.  To just sit in the living room with a glass of wine in hand and just enjoy the silence or read a history book. He was tired of the scotch and bourbon he put up with at work. He only used those things to get in the right mindset, the one where a stab in the back was a usual if not expected occurrence, the one where double speech was at its peak and contempt was masked by politeness.

Liam was tired. There were times he needed to remind himself why he was here, what he was trying to achieve, why he didn’t practice law anymore. As he stared at the scattered documents on the black coffee table in front of that damn white couch he was sitting on, Liam found himself asking the air that same question repeatedly. Preparing to go against Lydia made him both miss law and hate it at the same time. He had done nothing wrong. That’s what he kept telling himself, yet here he was. Deep down he knew Theo Raeken followed his own agenda and if that involved Liam, then Liam had no say in it. He knew that Theo would do whatever he wanted with or without Liam’s contribution. Though Liam had no idea what that contribution was.

But here he was. Theo was gone, Mason was probably sleeping in the office again, Corey –actually he had no idea where Corey was. But Liam was here, looking at evidence and building arguments to go against his former boss and a part of his family and he felt lost. Liam was a great lawyer. But something felt wrong. Something didn’t add up inside him, giving him that focus he needed, that determination to get himself out of this, to protect both Theo and himself from the clutches of the law. Liam didn’t know if he was punishing or sabotaging himself, but whatever it was, it left him feeling empty and drained, motionless and useless in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. In the back of his mind, he was terrified by the numbness, but he felt as if there was nothing he could do to change it, nothing he _wanted_ to do.

The doorbell rang and Liam sighed. He left the glass of wine on the coffee table carelessly and got up to answer the door, his body barely had any will to move at all.

He opened the wooden door and almost snapped at whoever was on the other side, but when his eyes took in the woman standing in front of him, Liam froze. “Mom?” he almost whispered, like he used to when he was little and he had a nightmare and just needed his mom.

Her smile hadn’t changed in the months since he saw her last. It was still warm and it spoke of an unconditional love Liam couldn’t understand. There had been many moments he had thought he had been an awful son, including this one, and didn’t deserve his mother’s love and understanding and acceptance. God, he hadn’t seen her in more than five months. How could he ever be considered a worthy son in her eyes.

“Missed me?”

Liam broke at hearing her voice. His shoulders slumped, his body lost the power it needed to stand and it felt as if he was going to meet the ground any moment now. “Yeah. I did.” His voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears. He hadn’t known how much he needed his mother until she was standing right in front of him. She must have known. She must have watched the news, read the newspaper. In all the mayhem Liam hadn’t thought to call her, to warn her about things people were going to say, things people were going to do.

God, what if the people Theo worked for went after his mother next? He had nothing else left to lose, did he? They had destroyed his campaign, his character, almost destroyed his friendship with Mason, he hadn’t seen Corey in days and now he was facing jail time. “Mom. What have I gotten into?” As his knees buckled, Liam felt his mother’s arms surround him, the scent of flour, sugar and roses hitting his nose. His eyes closed as he felt her arms tighten their hold around him. Liam hadn’t cried in a long time, but now he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t hold it in.

He felt fingers go through his hair gently, and his mother’s gentle voice in his ear, “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. You can let go now.”

And Liam did.


	8. Chapter 8

They were settled on the couch now. The black one, not the white one. Liam didn’t know why, but when they moved to the living room, he instinctively moved his mother toward the other side. His wolf didn’t want any other scent on it. Liam didn’t even try to think about why that was.

His mother, Jenna, was sitting on the end of the couch, while Liam was lying on it with his head in her lap. Jenna kept moving her fingers through his hair and Liam had almost falen asleep. But he wouldn’t let himself. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her now that she was here. Suddenly, her voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Remember when you came out to us?”

“Yeah,” Liam snorted and laughed at the same time. That had been fun.

_They were all gathered around the kitchen counter; Jenna, David and Liam. They were all busy and had different schedules that rarely coincided, but they tried to make time for family. Not bonding necessarily, just being around each other, relaxing, taking in their presence, reminding themselves that no matter the stress of the day, if they needed to, they always had someone by their side willing to pick up the weight._

_They had one ritual that they tried to keep at least once a week; doing the crossword puzzle. You see, David was the kind of man that bought newspapers instead of looking up the current issues online. He said he liked the way the paper smelled. Liam couldn’t really disagree. It was the first thing they started doing when David joined their family. Liam had been wary of him at first, but the man knew some random historical facts that Liam didn’t even know. And he was a huge history buff. When he had once snapped at him asking how he know all that, his stepdad had simply laughed and showed him the crossword puzzle. His mom had joined them a few minutes later, giving her two cents to the conversation and ever since then they had made a tradition out of it._

_So they were laughing at some of the outrageous solves Jenna came up with; she did that when she got frustrated, just came up with ridiculous words as long as they fit the amount of letters just to make everyone laugh. She had always said laughter is a better outlet than anger and Liam has been trying for so long to live by it. He’s managing._

_Anyway, they were waiting for dinner to be done during this rare time they all happened to be together in the house at the same time. Maybe they had been carried away, because Liam sniffed once, twice, his nose scrunching up in this adorable way when he said, “Mom, I think the sauce is burning. As a gay werewolf, I’d know.” Liam froze. Okay, before you say anything, Liam knew food and sexuality didn’t really have anything to do with each other but they had been talking about men’s fashion since the puzzle was based on Paris Fashion Week that had just passed, and his mom kept talking about the models, and Liam kept picturing the models and it just came out, okay?! No pun intended._

_His parents' eyebrows reached their hairline basically, but David didn’t actually speak. His mother though was another case all together. “As a gay what now?”_

_Because of course that’s what shocked her mom, the supernatural part. Well, thinking of how Liam had reacted at first at the whole idea, he could see why. But still he felt the need to clarify, “Bisexual actually.”_

_David laughed and Jenna pinched her nose before glaring at her son, “Liam.” She did a great imitation of a growl actually. His mom would be a badass wolf, Liam thought. As he looked at her and took in her scent, he realized she wasn’t mad. She was mainly amused and a bit worried. Liam didn’t know what to do with that reaction. He had imagined anger, disappointment, fear. Everything negative his brain could come up with he had imagined. But he never expected amusement._

_So he looked at his mother first, then at David who was currently bent in half laughing his ass off, and back to his mom, his gaze flying between them in rapid succession, and exclaimed with wide eyes at the scene in front of him, “Uh, surprise?”_

Jenna smiled fondly and a little bit amused as the memory came back to her. She had known something was different about her son. He was away from home more often than not, some nights his bed hadn’t even been slept in and she kept finding bloodied clothes that apparently for some reason Liam hadn’t had the chance to stash away. She stroked back his hair as she said, “You’ve always been a little shit. Life was never dull with you. Apparently, politics isn’t going to be either.”

Liam snorted at that, bending one leg at the knee as he was lying down to feel more comfortable. “Gee, thanks mom.” Liam couldn’t say he disagreed. The trial was only a few days away, the whole process being sped up as the elections were coming closer and closer. Liam had tried to count his mistakes before. He thought of apologizing for his wrongdoings to the jury as his opening argument. He had tried to take it from the start. Problem was, he didn’t know where that start was.

Was it when he became a werewolf? When the Dread Doctors came into their lives and wrecked havoc? Or when the hunters decided to deal the final blow by creating an all-out war? Or maybe it was many, many years after when he first met Theo, when he went against him in court, when he talked to him, when he gave him his heart without even knowing it. Whatever it was, Liam was not ashamed or sorry for any of those. Was that so wrong?

 

* * *

 

The trial was on. Theo was still AWOL, and so was Corey. Mason seemed worried and Liam got the feeling his best friend’s fate was not the only thing in his mind. He didn’t ask. Their friendship seemed to be better now that Liam had come clean to him, but he was still afraid a grain of trust between them had been lost. He was afraid to test it, terrified to find out whether that was true. Instead, he focused on his defence, on his attitude, on his suit. You might think the last one might be a silly thing to pay attention to, Liam had found that first impressions last. When it comes to lawyers, style –or lack of it- made a difference and if he was going to win this, Liam had to play every single card right.So Liam took a page out of Theo’s book. He didn’t wear a baby blue suit, but he did find a dark blue Tom Ford in his closet. Mason wanted him to wear it on election day. Liam hoped his friend would forgive him.

When he walked into the courtroom, Lydia was already there. Her glance was approving but Liam elected to ignore her. It had taken him so long to lock away the personal feelings between them in a box that no one but him had the key. Looking at her, maybe seeing pride written all over her face would undo all his work. He wasn’t going to lose. He was good at this. And this time, he’d be even better than Lydia.

The judge on his case was one he had never met before. Usually cases are assigned randomly, but this one was probably fixed. Liam was okay with that. Prejudice was something he was not in the mood to deal with as he knew most of the judges already, having already made a few enemies out of them along the way.

Judge Cohner took his seat and everyone quieted down, except for Lydia’s assistant, someone who was probably hired after Liam left the District Attorney’s office since he didn’t know him. He seemed to know Lydia. He spoke with a familiarity that was almost inappropriate for the court. “So, Ms. Martin. What are we doing here?”

“We’re wasting our time, Your Honor,” Liam decided to jump in. He thought confidence and assholery was the answer but as he took in Lydia’s pleased expression at his interruption, Liam decided he had been wrong. Regardless, if he took it all silently, they’d walk all over him. Liam wouldn’t let them. He respected the judiciary system, but when it was wrong, he made it his mission to prove it. This time was no different.

The Judge raised an eyebrow at him but Liam didn’t cower. “Did I address you, Mr. Dunbar?”

“I’m sorry, Your Honor,” he said with an honest expression on his face, the puppy eyes turned up a notch. “I couldn’t help myself.” His determination was clear in his voice, and his self-righteousness followed as he continued. “The accusation is ridiculous. Collusion is not even an official crime.”

Judge Cohner didn’t seem phased by his short speech. Instead, he replied calmly, “I think I’ll decide that, don’t you?”

Liam had no intention to back down. He needed to know how far he could push this right from the start. Maybe everyone thought he was acting as an offended politician when in reality his only goal was to read the Judge he had never met before; figure out what made him tick before it was too late. So, Liam went on according to plan, “No, Your Honour. The State of New York has decided that. Our constitution has decided that, the one we’ve sworn to uphold ever since we took our oath.”

“The one you have allegedly threatened with some questionable actions.” There it was. The underlying accusation in his tone. That’s what Liam’s been looking for. The Judge went on, “If I were you, I’d speak when spoken to, Counsellor.” Liam pretended to feel scolded for the eyes of the court as Judge Cohner turned towards Lydia, “So, Ms. Martin. The floor is yours.”

“You walked right into that one,” was all Lydia whispered to him before she started her monologue, her side of events that led them here. “We’re here, Your Honour, to defend justice, to defend our government and protect our people from corruption and greed. Mr.Dunbar here, has colluded with another Mayor candidate, Mr. Theo Raeken, in order to manipulate the elections to further their own agenda. They have deliberately corrupted the sacred process of the people being heard. They have misled our people, our country and decimated our values. Which is what I’ll prove to the court today. The evidence is there. A smokescreen hidden under the best camouflage possible. But you see, Your Honour, nine days ago, I went to Mr. Dunbar’s house to deliver his charges when-”

A few rows down at the pews, two detectives were paying close attention to what was being said, when something caught the one’s ear. He nudged his partner, the rest of the DA’s words fading to black as he leaned in to whisper to the other, “Did she just say she went to his house?”

The other one looked at him confused, a frown on both of their faces but for completely different reasons. “Yeah?”

He shook his head, “I was staking out Dunbar’s house all day that day. No one came in or out and certainly not the DA.” Did the DA just lie to the court? Why did it feel like this thing just got messier and bigger than anything they’ve ever faced? Two corrupt candidates. Was it possible they’d take the DA down with them? Or has she been involved from the start?

Someone had to know the truth in this damn place, hadn’t they? Maybe the Judge could figure it out. It was their duty to let him know, his to make an informed decision. That’s what they told themselves as they waited for the two lawyers at the front to hash out their differences, waiting for the right moment to come forward.

 

* * *

 

 They waited for recess to ask to speak to the Judge. While the trial was still on going, they had called back to the precinct and asked for the reports and transcripts of the stakeouts, all of them. They knew they were about to reveal a secret operation that had stayed under the radar for a reason. But their duty towards the law and justice told them it was the right move.

They were currently in the Judge’s chambers, both counsellors waiting patiently in the courtroom at the officers’ insistence. They knew if they had been here, they’d do their best to quash this evidence reciting law after law but that didn’t mean they didn’t break the law themselves.

Judge Cohner was the first to break the silence as he settled on his desk. “So, why the secrecy officers?”

The officers hesitated then. They looked at each other, their lips pressed in a thin line showing how uncomfortable they really were by doing this, and if they nudged at the other to speak first, well hopefully the judge didn’t see it. But someone had to speak at some point and the one who noticed the discrepancy thought he might as well. He took a breath and said, “Your Honour, we think Ms. Lydia Martin and the assumed defendant are the ones colluding here.” There. Now the cat was out of the bag.

Judge Cohner reacted in a way he hadn’t so far. He blinked at them, asked, “What?” in a disbelieving tone.

The officer hesitated once again. But what if he was right? They couldn’t let people in such positions of power get away with it. “Ms. Martin stated that she went to Mr. Dunbar’s house to deliver his charges. However, according to police records, who have been watching Mr. Dunbar’s house no one came in or out of his house that day. Now, I’m not saying the previous charges are untrue, but I think Ms. Martin and Mr. Dunbar are hiding things from us, things impertinent to the truth.”

Judge Cohner was silent for a minute. No one could really say what was going through the man’s mind, but certainly nothing good. “Is that your evidence?” The Judge asked pointing at the plastic file the officer was holding tightly.

The officer looked at it as if he had forgotten of its existence, “Uh, yeah,” he said nervously as he handed it over.

The Judge took it and flipped it open. “Were all the entrances under surveillance at all times?” he asked without looking at the other men.

“Excuse me?” The one that had been silent so far asked.

“If you want me to accuse two highly-esteemed lawyers for collusion or for obstruction of justice, - one of them being the District Attorney nonetheless – I need this not to bite me in the ass. So, I ask again. Were all entrances to the property under surveillance at all times?”

The officer who was there on the day discussed replied, “There’s only one entrance to the property, Your Honor.”

“And no one fell asleep? No pee-breaks, food-breaks, anything-breaks?”

“No, Your Honor.”

The Judge sighed deeply. He never asked for this case. He was the last one to be appointed to this court, the only one Liam Dunbar hadn’t faced, the only one without prejudice. He had thoughts of his own, beliefs. They didn’t matter now, though. Now, he had to speak to a Mayor candidate and a District Attorney whose relationship extended to family as far as he knew. But that didn’t matter either. Enemies or friends, whatever they did, justice would be persevere.

“Just tell them to come in on your way back.”

 

* * *

 

Liam tried to not slam the door on his way out of the Judge’s chambers. First, he finds out the police had been investigating him close enough that it involved staking out his house and then he was accused of coming up with some crazy story in order to clear his name and save his career by making the DA find him innocent in the court of law. The outrageousness of it all had Liam struggling for control.

He followed Lydia’s clacking heels around the corner, got in front of her in no time and hissed at her, “What did you do?!”

Lydia seemed to not give a damn about the predicament they had found themselves in. Maybe she didn’t understand. Maybe she didn’t understand that it was hard enough for Liam to prove his innocence once with Theo gone and no proof whatsoever to reject the accusations made against him. Now it was going to be five times more difficult to prove his innocence of secretly working with the same person that was accusing him in the first place. Or, as Liam thought while looking at Lydia purse her lips and cross her arms in front of herself not defensively but protectively – a distinction Liam could make after years of examination – maybe Lydia knew more than she let on. Maybe she was just as afraid as he was.

“Liam,” she tried to say disapprovingly, but a cord was struck inside Liam’s brain as he realized something. “Did Stiles put you up to this?” Lydia didn’t take her eyes off of him, but her silence confirmed all he needed to know. “Oh my God! He did! Let me guess. He thought if I could beat you in court, it would clear my name.” He shook his head as he realized he had been a pawn in his friends’ game, moved around by invisible hands, pushed to certain extents by invisible forces out of his control. As it all unravelled inside his head, the anger boiled hotter inside him. It made him feel used and manipulated, feelings he never thought would be associated with his own family. Disappointment was not a big enough word to describe what he felt toward some of the most important people in his life. But if it was a battle they wanted, then a battle they’d have, only this time it would be on Liam’s terms, terms they had no need to be aware of or abide by.

Lydia could see Liam closing up, distancing himself not just from the situation. She could feel him pulling away, the pack bond connecting them getting weaker as Liam closed one door after another on his own people. It hurt. There was no other way to say it. It made her want to reach out and shake him, explain it all from the start. She had never felt this way before. But she knew those were thoughts she couldn’t act on. She tried to explain as best as she could but she didn’t think it worked. “It was the only plan we could come up with where you could still win the election.”

Liam snorted an ugly sound filled with bitterness. “Yeah, and look where that got us, huh?” he said spreading his arms as if this wasn’t a place Lydia knew like the back of her hand. She did. But the thing is, Liam had forgotten. He had made the choice to forget about these halls, the lifeless courtrooms filled with the stench of misery and anger. And now he was being forced to remember. He was sucked back into this wormhole he wouldn’t escape unscathed.

Lydia tried again, anything to stop that overwhelming feeling of loss inside of her, “Liam, we can-” but Liam didn’t let her. Liam was too far gone for her to reach him.

“No,” he cut her off sharply. “ _We_ can’t do anything. _I_ will fix this. You’ve done enough already.” As he walked away from her, he could feel the pack bond being stretched on thin ice. One more hit and it would be broken. One more hit and Liam would be untethered by what kept him in control from so long. Maybe it was for the best.

He ignored the twist in his stomach at the thought. That was for the best too.

 

* * *

 

Stiles had been closely watching Liam’s case. He had been using every resource the FBI had, every program useful in the blacksite’s computers, even some he had no authorisation to access but he didn’t care. He could say it was important to his current case, to catching the Dread Doctors. After all, Liam was one of the Dread Doctors’ targets, wasn’t he?

Yeah, that’s what Stiles hated. Everyone knew he was an FBI Agent but no one knew what he was working on other than Lydia this time. When people asked, he deflected as discreetly as he could. He didn’t want to lie, but he was prepared to do so if he had to. The truth was Stiles had been working on this case for too long, going on four years now and he could finally see the finish line. He had all he needed except patience, and now another problem arose.

It didn’t take him long before he called Lydia and put her on speakerphone. He was alone either way.It rang four times before Lydia picked up. Stiles offered no greetings, his anxiety and anticipation of the end taking over. “What the heck Lydia?! I thought you said Liam was going to win this!”

Lydia didn’t hesitate to respond, her voice almost echoing in the seemingly empty space. _“Technically, you said it.”_

“Potato, po-tah-to. What happened?” Stiles demanded. He had no time for games. He had been waiting for Liam’s innocence to move forward with his plan and if that was hindered, he needed to  find a way around it. Maybe he already had. But he needed to know where they stood on their current plan.

“It doesn’t matter.” It was too much to explain anyway. “I’ll fix this. Liam is not losing this election.” Lydia wasn’t going to let him.

“He told you to drop it, didn’t he?” A voice sounded from his far right and Stiles turned to see Theo leaning against the doorframe. He had thought he was alone. He had thought Theo had been training with Derek but it seemed he was wrong.

Lydia didn’t answer Theo, something that made the chimera smirk in a combination of fondness and self-satisfaction at knowing Liam so well. “I wouldn’t get in his way if I were you.” Theo had witnessed first-hand how brutal a betrayed Liam could be, how ruthless, how ruled and pulled by his anger in all kinds of directions. Even Lydia Martin was not immune to Liam’s anger.

_“I can’t.”_

Stiles looked at Theo as if he was watching him under a new light. As much as he hated to admit this, the chimera had a point and Stiles had a plan. “You will.”

It was as if Theo could read his mind as they looked at each other and added his own two cents to the conversation, “You motivated him. You pushed his buttons and brought out his competitive side. He’s the one to hit the homerun, not you. That’s the way we wanted it. That’s the way we all wanted it. The only way it could ever work.”

Stiles could feel Lydia was still not convinced. “I hate to say it, but he’s kinda right. “ He paused to find the right words amidst his anger, the ones he knew were true about the magnificent being on the other end of the line. “Lydia, you’re a goddess and I love you, but this is Liam’s fight. We can’t keep fighting his battles for him.”

 _“But it was my lie that got him in trouble,”_ Lydia insisted.

Maybe that was true. But Liam was strong. He had a way of surviving the toughest shit life threw at him. He could do this. Even if he couldn’t, Stiles had a way to help him. “Maybe. But it’s his career that’s about to end, not yours. We all know you can bounce back from this. Liam can’t.”

For once Stiles didn’t let Lydia respond. Instead he hung up on her expecting her to follow his order. He didn’t care if she’d be pissed at him later. A new plan was formulating in his mind, one that where Liam would be proven innocent, win the election and take down the Dread Doctors for good. But it had to be set in motion as soon as possible. Today or tomorrow at the latest. He knew exactly what he needed to do and what roles everyone was going to play. All he had to do, was catch them up to speed.


	9. Chapter 9

If you are going to understand everything that’s about to unfold, then you need to know some things about Theo Raeken. Like, how did the first Chimera, the first instrument of death created by the Dread Doctors, start working with the FBI, become an agent destined to betray them and himself?

Well…

It all began when the Dread Doctors needed an in to the bureau for one of their clients. You see, the bureau knew about the supernatural and they had certain defenses against them, even the Dread Doctors.

_Theo was with his pack, small as it was. Josh and Tracy had gone off somewhere, only Corey was here. Actually, Corey was the only one willing to be around him, the only one whose presence calmed him instead of making the hairs on his arms stand at attention. He didn’t know if that was a pack thing or a Corey thing. He never had a pack before after all. But he felt a fierce protectiveness toward the younger man and that terrified him at times. He wanted Corey to survive. He wanted Corey to get away from here, out of this life of being used as a pawn for others to dominate the world. He wanted Corey to have a normal life, even if Theo had no idea what normal meant._

_Theo wasn’t used to caring for others. He had been told by many sources that a pack would bring him power, enough to overthrow their creators. Well, either they lied or they didn’t know what they were talking about. Either way, Theo was stuck. Whatever he had to do from now on, whatever had to happen, he could at least help Corey get out, protect himself. Maybe he could give back a bit of good for all the evil he was about to unleash._

_Which is why he screamed as he deflected blow after blow easily, while Corey struggled to get a hit in. “Come on, Corey! Fight!”_

_He knew yelling at the kid was never the best option, but tough love is all he has ever known, it’s all he can ever offer. But it’s not what Corey’s willing to take. “I’m not like you!” Corey screamed back, shoving Theo a good five steps. Corey was panting. He knew he had strength he hadn’t discovered yet, but violence had never been an acceptable answer for him, unlike Theo. He looked up to him. But when he pushed him like this, it made him rethink his values. But no matter what insane thoughts crossed his mind, one thing stayed the same, “I’m not fucking like you, Theo.”_

_Theo panted for breath as he moved closer to Corey, not to attack, but to simply get closer. He could see the tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and it killed him that he pushed Corey to this point, but he had to. He had to be prepared for what was coming and there was nothing Theo could say to warn him. Theo rested his hand on the back of Corey’s neck and looked into his eyes, stepping as close as he dared to. “I know,” he said. “I know you’re not.” And he should never be. “You’re too good to be anything like me.” He took a breath then, and made sure Corey was looking at him before he continued, because he needed to hear this, he needed to remember this. It was too important to forget. “But there will come a time where you will want to protect someone you care about, someone you- you love.” Theo knew nothing of that either. But from what he had read in books, it must be worthy to experience. “Because you’re going to love someone one day and they’re going to love you back.” He spoke with certainty because Corey deserved that and more. Corey was going to get out and he was going to live the life Theo couldn’t._

_“Theo-”_

_Theo could see a number of emotions passing through Corey’s eyes, the awe, the uncertainty, the loyalty, the fear, the worry, none of which Theo deserved, so he didn’t let him speak. He tightened slightly the hand on the back of Corey’s neck, and spoke over him, “Don’t fight now. But fight then.”_

_But if Corey had something to say, he never kept it in. And he didn’t this time either. Theo could see from the determination in his eyes that a decision had been made, one he wasn’t going to approve of. “I will. But I’ll fight now too. Not against you, though. With you. That’s the only way I’ll do it.”_

_And that’s the only way he never could, Theo thought._

_A few months later, Corey was gone and Theo Raeken walked into the FBI Headquarters. Whatever the Dread Doctors had asked for, it wasn’t why he actually went. He went in to finish this once and for all. The time had come for the Dread Doctor and if that meant his time was over as well, Theo was okay with it. He bypassed the security check and went to where he knew a camera was pointing right at him. An alarm sounded, FBI agents surrounded him, and Theo still didn’t give a damn. He was here for someone very specific and that would be the only person he would talk to. “I know you can see me, Stiles. You want the Dread Doctors, don’t you? I can give them to you.” He paused and raised his hands behind his head as more and more guns clicked around him, safeties being turned off. He still smirked like the Cheshire Cat, as if he still had the upper hand and added, “For a price.” If that price was protection, it wasn’t something unexpected, but it wasn’t something Theo was about to express yet._

_He stood still as he listened to people command him to fall on his knees, to surrender, to give in. He paid no mind to them. Instead, he looked back at the camera with a grin, “They’re getting restless, Stiles. Should I tell them to go for it?” He laughed at himself then. It was the nervous kind, the crazy one. Where your plan came to a futile end before it even began and you had no hope in sight for your survival. But words were something Theo was good at. And he was going to use them as far as it would get him, even if that was nowhere. “You don’t remember me, do you?”_

_“Theo Raeken,” Stiles said as he walked in the lobby from a direction Theo didn’t see. “Back off,” he said to the agents in his way. He walked as close to Theo as he dared to, just a couple of steps away. He was within the line of fire, but that didn’t matter because no one was going to shoot. Derek would make sure of that._

_“So, you remember me,” Theo smirked._

_Stiles stood tall, his feet apart at the same width as his shoulders, his hands hidden in the pockets of his trousers. Well, one of them was, the other one was flailing about as Stiles explained, “Actually, there’s a facial recognition system. Sorry, you look quite different from elementary school.” Stiles shrugged nonchalantly._

_Theo laughed. “I see you’re sarcastic as always.” Stiles had always been a spastic ball of sarcasm that was vying for his best friend’s attention, in Theo’s opinion. Guess who had that best friend now._

_“I wish I could say the same,” Stiles said cryptically._

_Theo didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he directed the conversation right where he wanted it to go. “I heard you’re looking for the Dread Doctors.”_

_“I heard you’re working for them,” Stiles easily replied._

_“Which means I can give you information you want, information that nobody else has.” Theo didn’t hesitate to point that out._

_“What’s the price?”_

_Theo laughed. “You cut to chase, don’t you? Alright. I get it. But somehow, I think you need me more that I need you,” Theo said, smirking._

_It was Stiles’ turn to laugh this time. “You’re here to presumably betray the Dread Doctors and I’m the one that needs you?!”_

_Theo shrugged, the smirk not gone from his face. “So you know what I want. It so happens, that I know what you want too.”_

_Stiles looked at him, considering his expression, his stance, his words, his motivations. He didn’t understand everything yet. There were a lot of theories passing through his mind as to why Theo Raeken would even step foot in this building. None of them had a positive outcome. Still, if he didn’t investigate, Stiles knew the what if would eat him up inside. “Okay, Raeken. I’ll bite. Take him,” he said and Derek showed up to grab him gently. Then he turned back towards Theo and said, “I suggest you go along. He bites.”_

_“Stiles,” Derek growled but didn’t deny his threat. He would, if he had to._

_Theo froze at the other wolf’s presence. Everything in him stood in alarm. The other agent’s presence commanded a serenity from him that Theo wasn’t ready to give. When the other man flashed electric blue eyes at him, Theo was even more confused. He was reacting as if he was in front of an Alpha werewolf, but that wasn’t true. Even if it had been, his chimera was not so easily beseeched by other supernaturals. Theo stiffened as he felt the agent grab his arm. Somehow he expected the agent to be more rough with him and it was no consolation that he wasn’t. Either way, Theo had truths to spill, truths that concerned Stiles Stilinski’s pack, especially that angry kid up for Mayor, Liam Dunbar. Theo was sure Stiles would be interested to hear at least that much._

 

* * *

_Derek and Stiles were standing behind the looking glass. They had just come out of the interrogation room where Theo Raeken was sitting in and what they had heard… Stiles had a hard time believing. Because if he did, that means a member of his own pack was in danger and there was no way for Stiles to save him. There was nothing he could do unless he trusted Theo Raeken of all people. And Stiles Stilinski really did not want to trust Theo Raeken._

_Stiles crossed his arms on his chest while Drek was leaning against the wall, palms flat against it, one knee bent to support himself. Even here in the workplace he looked like a GQ model._ Focus Stilinski _. He had some terrorists to catch. “Do you think we can trust him?”_

_Derek took his time to answer, and even then he was concise. “We shouldn’t.”_

_Stiles rolled his eyes at that. “Well, duh,” he accompanied that with jazz hands. “I asked what you think, not what we should do.” Derek always did that when his opinion differed from Stiles’.  He thought he was buttering him up or something before delivering the blow, which was not true._

_Still, Derek was as vague as possible. He looked at the man on the other side of the glass, his eyes appearing empty as he took in his own reflection on the metal table. But Derek knew what it looked like when someone barely recognized themselves anymore. He knew what it felt like too. “I think the kid’s been waiting for a long time to get out. It’s not going to be easy.”_

_Stiles followed Derek’s gaze and he could see almost what Derek did. He had seen that expression before, actually on Derek, and a part of him wanted to help him, wanted to trust him, wanted to let him in. But most of all, the truth was, “I don’t know, I don’t trust him.”_

_It was Derek’s turn to roll his eyes at the other man. “You don’t trust anyone.”_

_“I trust you!” Stiles pointed at him._

_“I’m your boyfriend, Stiles,” Derek deadpanned. Pretty sure when you’ve been dating for as long as they had, trust was kind of a given._

_“That doesn’t necessarily mean that I trust you!”_

_Derek rolled his eyes again, “I’m honored.” He took no offense in what Stiles said. He knew him well enough by now to recognize those desperate moments to prove a point that he would use whatever example he could find in his arsenal._

_Stiles noticed the time, then, cursing to himself. “Shit. I’ve got to go. Put a detail on him,” he ordered by pointing a finger at Derek as if the other man wouldn’t have done that either way._

_Derek smiled then, sarcastically, all of his teeth showing as he said in the most playfully condescending tone he could muster, “Stiles, dear. Don’t tell me how to do my job.”_

_Stiles raised his hands in surrender, “Jeez, angrywolf much?” At Derek’s glare, Stiles reconsidered and moved to leave, “Fine! I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” Before he walked out the door, he paused and turned to Derek again, “Oh, and don’t forget. We have that HR thing later at 3.”_

_Derek sighed. They had regular HR meetings to let them know about how their relationship was progressing in the workplace. He hated sharing his personal life with people that had no business knowing about it. “Do we really have to do this?”_

_Stiles responded just like he had every other time Derek had asked before a meeting like this. “If you want us to keep working together, then yes, Derek, we really have to do this. Now chop-chop. Back to work!”_

_“Stiles.”_

_“Right! Yes, leaving! Love you.”_

_Derek smiled at that. He couldn’t resist. He sighed dramatically as he said, “I love you too, even though I don’t know why.”_

 

* * *

That was all it took.  Just a chance, just a door being opened enough for a sliver of hope to show itself to Theo and let him grab onto it like the lifeline he had been missing all along. After that, Theo worked with Derek and Stiles more and more, he sparred with Derek, he fought with him, he argued, he cried, he broke down in a way he never had before, in a way he didn’t think he ever could. Derek never judged, not even for a moment. There had been times when Stiles had been harsher than the situation called for against Theo and Derek defended him. He made Stiles understand without revealing anything, without betraying Theo’s trust. So Theo thought it his duty to never betray Derek’s trust either. Until Liam.

Which was how they got to an abandoned warehouse with FBI agents surrounding the place without being visible, a cage waiting for a specific monster to fall into, a monster Theo had almost let win. But Stiles had the plan to fix it. He had played it all out in his mind: get Theo to an open place, get them to admit what they did as he wore an untraceable wire, lead them to a line of mountain ash mixed with mistletoe that would hold them just long enough for the cage to fall on them and cut them off from using their frequencies against them or even escape. It sounded simple enough, but Theo knew with the Dread Doctors it never was. He was prepared to do whatever he had to do to end this.

He was with Stiles now in the furthest corner in the parking lot in front of the warehouse. He was arming Theo with all kinds of gadgets as he was the only one to go in while the rest of them would have his back. Derek hadn’t liked that one bit, but this was the only way. Stiles was currently presenting him with the most important gadget of all, one smaller than a SIM card and yet was the key to this whole operation. “This device will not be affected by their powers. We need you to get a confession.”

Derek, who was standing there with them, looked at him in the eyes as he reminded Theo carefully, watching him for any reaction that could raise any alarm in the werewolf’s mind, “We have enough evidence to take them down, but you know a confession will go a long way. Stiles and I will be listening the whole time. Just get them to say those teenagers. Okay?” Derek put a hand on the back of Theo’s neck, making their eyes lock for this moment.

Theo could only nod in agreement, “Okay.” It was time for the showdown.

All they had to do now was wait for the Dread Doctors to show up. Theo was standing next to what they called ‘The Box’. It was actually a FBI minivan designed just like the cage for extra reinforcement so they could move the targets to the blacksite. The supernatural elements along with the technology it took to create it were both undetectable. All the Dread Doctors would see was an FBI minivan, which Theo didn’t care about. They already knew he was working for the FBI. If they hadn’t been planning to kill him before, they were sure as hell planning to now.

His thought process could go no further as suddenly, Corey materialised in front of him, a thousand alarms going off in his brain. He hadn’t seen Corey in a long time, but he had kept tabs on him. He had fallen in love just like Theo thought he would and it had seemed like he was loved in return.

Theo shook himself from past memories. He didn’t sit up as he was leaning against the box. He didn’t want to spook Corey before he even found out why he was here. Which is exactly what he asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help.”

Theo could see the kid was determined. He had no idea where such passion stemmed from. He doubted it was from whatever sense of duty towards him he may have felt at some point in the past. “Is that so?”

Corey wasn’t deterred by the suspicion in Theo’s voice. “Look, I know I said things when I left-”

_‘I hope you rot in hell for this. Both you and them.’_

Corey’s voice spun like a broken record in his head, repeating itself again and again. He had pushed him away in the worst way possible in order to save him and Corey hadn’t hesitated to push back the only way he knew how. He smiled self-deprecatingly, and interrupted him, “That’s putting it lightly.”

Corey didn’t stop talking, though, even after Theo’s input. “But I’m not here for that.” He knew Theo wouldn’t believe him if he told him the truth, so he said the next plausible thing that came to mind, “I’m here for Liam.” He saw Theo didn’t believe that either, even though he looked inclined to. Corey sighed in frustration. Why didn’t Theo believe him, damn it?! “Look, the Dread Doctors have done enough already. I think it’s time this stops, don’t you?”

That gave Theo pause. The thing was, Corey had gotten out long before the Dread Doctors had told Theo of their plans for the Mayor race. And even if they had told him before, the rest of the chimera pack never knew anything other than what was absolutely necessary to complete their mission successfully. Theo was the only one who was let in on their plans, the one with the bigger weight on his shoulders he wasn’t allowed to share with anyone. He still wasn’t sure if that had been a show of trust or a form of punishment. Either way, Corey didn’t really know what the Dread Doctors had done. Or at least, he wasn’t supposed to. But if he did…

Theo sat up then, taking just a step towards Corey, “What did you just say?”

Corey frowned at him, confused, “What?”

“How did you know that?” Theo asked, taking another step forward. If he was here for Liam and the Dread Doctors then that meant he knew about the Mayor’s race. And whatever Liam had shared with him, Corey never really knew all the Dread Doctors were capable of. Theo had tried to scare him off of them in the past, when Corey had been in such desperate need of control, he would have done anything he asked. Which is why Theo taught Corey control himself. There was no reason for Corey to think the Dread Doctors as a danger against Liam. Theo had shared no such thing with him. He took all the weight to himself. So why was Corey really here? “Have you been listening?” Now he was a breath away from Corey and he grabbed him because when Corey panicked, he disappeared literally, and Theo wasn’t about to let him do that. “Have you been listening the whole time?!” If Theo raised his voice, it wasn’t his fault.

Corey was even more confused now, and his heart was jackrabbiting in his chest in panic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, let go!” He thrashed in Theo’s hold, trying his best to get away, the panic getting worse. But why he was panicking, he didn’t really know. It felt like a body reaction. But he never had one like this to Theo.

Theo looked at him, he took in his expression, the tempo of his heartbeat,the sweat forming on his forehead… Corey was driving himself into a panic attack and Theo would bet he didn’t know why. He knew what those signs were. He’d experience them himself. There was only one possible explanation for this… “They got to you, didn’t they?”

“What?! No! Theo!”

Theo looked in his eyes. The truth was that they had gotten to him but Corey didn’t even know it. Theo had caught the Dread Doctors experimenting with mind control a few times. They even did it to him at first, until he got so fed up with the time lapses , he swore he’d do anything they wanted to not to feel that way again. But if Corey was being controlled by the Dread Doctors and he was here, then that meant… Shit. He called out to a couple of agents guarding the box inside, “Take him! Put him in the box!”

The guards opened the back doors of the minivan and looked at Theo confused, “But, Sir, that’s for-”

“I know who’s that for!” Theo interrupted. “And if you don’t put him in there, hell is going to break loose that we’re not prepared for!” Corey was stronger than he looked, and he had abilities he hadn’t discovered himself yet. But the Dread Doctors knew all about them. He could take on the Dread Doctors alone; he had done that before. But throw a mind controlled Corey in the mix and the whole operation was bound to fail.

Stiles showed up next to Theo, looking at the whole scene suspiciously, “What’s going on here?”

Theo barely looked at him as he explained, “They’re using him. He’s probably been spying on Liam from the start and didn’t even know it.” His attention was on Corey, his hold tethering him to reality.

But suddenly Corey stopped fighting. He stopped moving, his expression blank, his eyes looked empty.

It didn’t take long for Stiles to connect the dots, just like Theo had. “They’re here.”

Theo didn’t wait for the agents to grab Corey. Instead, he lifted him on his shoulder and threw him in the back of the minivan himself, locking the doors tight right after.

“Everyone in position, now!”

 


	10. Chapter 10

They came as if from a fog. A wall of mist was surrounding the Dread Doctors as they walked towards where Theo stood in front of the entrance to the warehouse. There was no slow motion like in the movies. Before he even knew it, they were standing barely five feet before him, clinking and clanking, tittering, waiting for Theo to make his move. But Theo knew how they worked, the strategies of intimidation they used against their opponents. He wasn’t going to fall for that. No. It was time for them to speak their piece first for once. And they did.

_“Theo Raeken. You lied.”_

Theo could see no mouth moving, no face visible behind those masks. But he knew all of their voices. Each of them had been branded in his brain with all means necessary. He lied. Was that all they care about? Did it sting when they heard of Theo’s duplicity? He doubted it. Even so, Theo was not the only one who lied. “Yeah?” He called out to them. “Well, so did you.” The smirk was drawn on his face as if with permanent ink. But what they said next managed to erase it.

_“Theo Raeken. Failure.”_

“I’m not a failure.” He wasn’t. He survived. Whatever he did to survive, didn’t matter because circumstances forced him to do things no teenager should ever have to do in his life. And it was their fault. They took him just like they took the others. The only thing he had ever done wrong in their care was stay alive. “Where are they, huh? Where are the real failures?!” He daunted them. And then did it some more. “The ones you keep in a basement? The ones who spit or cry silver? Where are they?!”

_“Their condition deteriorated.”_

Theo laughed with no real humor. “You mean you killed them.” When he was little and he asked where his new friend was, when they could play again, he’d always get the same response. _‘Their condition deteriorated.’_  Jesus. He hadn’t even known what _deteriorate_ means at that age.

_“Their condition deteriorated.”_

Yeah, he heard them the first time. But what he hadn’t heard yet, “Where are their bodies?! What did you do with them?!” Theo barely kept himself from grabbing one of their necks and squeezing until the mask deformed.

It seemed as though the Dread Doctors were not similarly affected. _“Failures. Theo Raeken. Failures.”_

 _“Fuck. This isn’t going to work,”_ Theo could hear Stiles’ voice in his ear and he couldn’t disagree. The Dread Doctors were smarter than that. Whatever sentiments they held for Theo, that wasn’t enough for them to admit the murders of innocent teenagers in what they probably knew was recorded conversation. But Theo was not going to give up.

If they weren’t going to talk out of their own volition, then Theo would have to force it out of them. “Probably not,” Theo agreed, “but I know what will. Stiles, tell Liam…” There were so many things he wanted to tell him, so many things he wanted him to know, but none of them had any business being spoken by anyone else. “Just, make sure he’s happy, okay?”

_“Theo, what are you-”_

Theo didn’t wait for Stiles’ agreement. Instead, he raised the taunting up a notch, the smirk on his face more sinister than it had ever been before, as dangerous as he had never felt, as courageous as he was lacking it on the inside, “I’m not a failure. You are!” he yelled at them, raising his finger in further accusation. “You are the failures!”

_“Theo don’t.”_

This time it was Derek warning him. He didn’t know if he had caught up to his plan or if he simply expected whatever idea he came up with to be stupid. Either way, Theo didn’t listen. He knew one thing that would make them tick and it was time he used it. He stepped closer to them. “I know what you’ve been trying to do. But you failed, didn’t you?” He laughed like a madman at that, mocking them with all his might, “You have broken so many laws of science and you still-”

_“What is he-?”_

“-couldn’t raise an ancient werewolf, could you? Sebastian Valet, wasn’t it?”

_“Oh, shit. Derek, go! Go, go, go! Now!”_

Theo was only a breath away now. The Dread Doctors were still, motionless like puppets waiting to be moved by their master. He knew they were shocked. They always kept him away from the green tank and its contents. Whenever he asked, they’d punish him for it. But he eavesdropped and snooped around and he gathered knowledge like a sponge. He knew all about it. He’s been waiting to let them know he knew for a long time. He took that last step forward, facing the Surgeon in a way he had never done before, saying, “Oh, I knew. Which is how I know you failed. All these dead teenagers for nothing. You killed all these people, and yet, here we are.” He could sense Derek’s presence close to him. The others couldn’t be far behind. He grinned, pleased with himself, “I hope you don’t mind, but this time I brought my friends.” Last time he had fought against them with bare hands on his own. “Who’s the failure now?”

The Surgeon was the one to throw the first punch, or at least he tried to. Theo easily deflected it. He grabbed his arm, one hand on his wrist, the other near the shoulder and pulled with all his strength as he turned his back, trying to overthrow him to get the upper hand. It didn't work, and he hadn't expected it either. But he did expect the blow that came for his head and ducked just in time to land a kick of his own to the Surgeon's stomach which landed with a thundering crack. It gave him a few seconds of reprieve to get a sense of his surroundings. He raised his fists once again, and threw one punch after another until the Surgeon finally moved to the side to escape him. Theo pretended to almost lose his balance at the sudden move. It was just what he wanted though. Now he was on the other side and he could lead them right where he wanted to while they thought they were winning, pushing him backwards with blow after blow.

  
Meanwhile, Derek was taking care of the Pathologist. Truthfully, he wasn't the best in close combat in his beta form. He never got angry enough. He could never concentrate enough to find the balance within him that would allow him to keep a stable mind and injure his opponent lethally at the same time. But in his wolf form, that was where he was most at peace. And that was what he needed for this fight. He had changed into his wolf form before the fight had even began. As much as the Pathologist tried to pull on it to make his jaw unlock from his shoulder, Derek didn't feel a thing, his fur was stronger. But the Pathologist felt when he raked a paw across his chest. The Pathologist was moving around, trying to dislodge him and when he finally did, Derek fell on his four legs. He was more than ready for another round.

  
At the same time, Stiles was facing the Geneticist, using magic against him, some of which was easily deflected. But most of the spells Stiles had been using so far were merely for show, to gauge his opponent's reactions. It was time he pulled out the big guns. The Geneticist pulled the earth beneath his feet, making Stiles lie on his back panting at the fall. But that was his biggest mistake. Stiles laid his palms flat on the ground. He didn't dare close his eyes, as the Geneticist was coming closer and closer, but he concentrated, his magic pulling strength from the earth itself, accessing the telluric currents and letting him use them for his own protection. He could feel the electricity crackling in his veins. He could feel it traveling up and down his body, like a hidden companion who had pledged itself to him. As the Geneticist was now standing above him, Stiles clapped his palms together, and motioned them outwards, releasing all of that energy towards the Geneticist, shocking him to his core, pushing him backwards with a force he couldn't resist. This was going to work. Stiles knew it.

  
They all moved towards the same place; the warehouse. The circle of mountain ash and mistletoe was waiting to be completed for the cage to drop. But there was only one problem. The Dread Doctors were finally inside that line. But so was Theo. Stiles could close the line with him in it, it wouldn't affect him as a chimera. But the moment the line was closed, the cage was spelled to fall and Stiles couldn't do that to Theo. The Dread Doctors would tear him apart.

  
Theo was not of the same mind. He was still dodging punches and slashes from the cane as he yelled, "Drop the cage now!"

  
"No!" Stiles was doing all he could to keep the Pathologist inside the circle. He was not going to trap Theo with them. He had come up with this plan to keep both Theo and Liam safe. He wasn't going back on that goal.

  
They couldn't keep fighting them for long. They had already started buzzing in and out of existence using their damn frequencies. Theo could only keep up because he knew exactly how they did it. "Do it! I’ll be fine!" he screamed.

  
"They’ll electrify you to death!"  

  
This argument was pointless. Stiles just needed to listen to him for once! "I can’t hold them off for much longer! Just drop it!"

  
"Stiles, do it!" Derek suddenly said, taking his human form once again. If Theo was telling him to drop the cage, he had a plan. And as stupid as they had all been so far, it was all they had to go on right now.

  
They better have a plan he hasn't thought of yet or this was going to end in tragedy. Still, Stiles closed the line and a second later the cage dropped with Theo in it. But when Stiles looked again Theo was nowhere in sight. The Dread Doctors were there, pushing against the bars, electricity sizzling at every touch of theirs and Theo was nowhere to be seen.

  
"You didn't think I'd let myself get trapped inside that thing, did you?"

  
Stiles turned and saw Theo panting, the scent of burned copper wires surrounding him. There was that self satisfying smirk on his face and if Stiles wasn't so relieved to see him alive, he would have rolled his eyes at him. Right now, he could barely believe Theo was standing and walking towards him. "How did you do that?"

  
Theo raised an eyebrow at him, "Do you really want to know?" He could share that with him, just another thing he had learned from the Dread Doctors while they weren't looking, how to access and use all the frequencies they did. He's been using them for a long time without their knowledge. As they hit the bars they were trapped in repeatedly, he gathered they weren't fond of him using their tricks.

  
"Actually, I'll get back to you on that," Stiles said, patting his shoulder twice. In all the time he knew Theo Raeken, Stiles had learned some things were better left unsaid.

  
Derek hugged Theo, whispering in his ear, "Don't ever do that again." Derek's heart had stopped when he saw the cage fall. He had seen a static-y movement in his periphery and he had hoped it was Theo and for once he was glad to be right. He wasn't going to tell Stiles or Theo that.

  
"I won't have to." Hopefully at least. Theo walked in  front of the cage, as the Dread Doctors got angrier by the second. He crossed his arms on his chest and concluded for them, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only see three failures locked in a cage. I mean, I could keep you company, but the death wish I had is gone."

  
Stiles looked at Derek exasperated, "Does he really have to taunt them like this?"

  
Derek shrugged, "Well, they are in a cage."

  
Stiles hit his shoulder, cradling his hand right afterwards in pain, hissing at the other werewolf, "Very funny, stonewolf." He could see now why they belonged in the same pack; they were cut from the same cloth of black humour, brooding and martyrdom.

  
Theo's work here was done. It was over. It took him a moment for that to sink in, and when it did, he laughed; he laughed with all of his heart. He was free. He could hardly believe it. All this time, all this pain and misery and manipulation, all this begging to just stay alive one more day... everything he went through, everything he ever did led to him right here, right to this specific moment where he could feel the weight being lifted from his shoulders. He felt like he could finally breathe again with no obstructions. He felt like his lungs were his own, and no one had access to his brain other than him. He could make any stupid choice he wanted and there would be no price to pay other than the consequence of life. He was free. He was free to do as he chose. Which is why he turned around to leave before anyone could stop him. There was a man waiting for him, or at least he hoped so. There was a man he needed to see. But Stiles' voice stopped him.

  
"Where are you going?" Stiles was watching the Dread Doctors. They stood motionless now, having finally realized the bars wouldn't give. They were as still as statues and they were creeping him out. He would not be left alone to deal with this mess.

  
Theo turned to look at him, and admitted, "I'm going to see Liam."

  
Stiles sighed. He had been afraid of that. "You can't. This isn't over yet." Truth was, Theo couldn't leave yet. He couldn't show his face to the public. They had just caught the Dread Doctors. There were certain channels they had to go through first for Liam and Theo to be exonerated of all charges, as well as Lydia. Theo could not be seen until then. Probably for even longer since they still needed a confession from the Dread Doctors if possible - though, assaulting FBI agents would do - and there was still Corey waiting for them in the box. Stiles didn't tell Theo any of that. He knew Theo was aware of it all. He was the lawyer after all. Technically he was free, but in reality he still had a long way to go.

  
Derek passed by a dejected Theo that was connecting back to the reality of the situation. He pat him on the back twice as he ordered everyone, "Let's put them in the box."

 

* * *

  
_Almost a week later_

  
Liam had been struggling. He was forced to defend himself in the eyes of the law not against one, but two allegations, both of them contradicting each other. It didn't make any sense. The police had been watching his house and he had had no idea. What were his werewolf senses doing? Had they seen anything they shouldn't have? Had they witnessed Liam's glowing eyes or his sharp claws? As far as he could remember he hadn't shifted anywhere in public lately. But he had gotten his house for this exact reason. It was far enough from the civilization so that no accident or mistake was ever made.

  
Theo was gone and so was Corey. Mason was losing hope with every minute that passed by, but Liam didn't know why. He could see Mason was keeping something from him and he wanted to help him, he wanted for Mason to speak to him so that Liam could do something. But he had no room to talk. He did the exact same thing when Theo left. He hoped Mason wasn't going through the same thing. Corey would come back. Even though Liam had no idea why Corey left, he knew Corey loved Mason too much to stay away.

  
His mom was staying with him for a while, at least until after the elections whether Liam would be a part of them or not. Right now, his mom was leaning against the doorway looking at her son shuffling through papers scattered on the coffee table all the while stealing glances of the reminder of his current torture; the damn white couch. He was getting frustrated. Nothing was going his way. Nothing was changing and he could see the candidacy slipping right through his fingers. Or his claws at the moment.

  
"Liam, stop." His mom ordered with a stern voice. But Liam couldn't. He couldn't really afford to stop.

  
"I can't." His voice was a growl he couldn't control.

  
His mom was in front of him at once, holding his hands in hers, asking him to look at her. How could he? He was a failure. He had tried to change the world and now that same world had turned against him. Even if he won this case, the people of Beacon Hills wouldn't want him as their Mayor, as their leader. This was pointless.

  
"I said look at me."

  
He couldn't help but comply at her insistence. He saw a fire in her eyes that he used to see in his own sometimes, when the IED got the best of him and he tried to reign it back with productivity, that's what his eyes looked like. At least, that's what they reminded him of.

  
"You can do this."

  
Liam almost scoffed at that, but his mother of course expected that.

  
"No, don't give me that self-deprecating bullshit. You are going to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You are going to focus. And you are going to win. These people need you. They don't just need someone like you to lead them. They need you and they know it."Her words demanded confidence he didn't really have in himself any longer. But she did. His mom believed in him even after everything, even after he'd kept her out of the loop about basically everything that had been going on in his life. She was still here and not just because she had to be. That's not who his mother was. She never did anything she didn't want to do. He was going to try. He was going to do his best. It was the least he owed her for everything she had done.

  
He took a breath and was ready to tell her exactly that when his phone rang. He was needed in court right away. The Judge had news. Liam dreaded what those news might be.

 

* * *

  
Liam couldn't say he was surprised to see Lydia waiting for the Judge as well. Whatever development had occurred in their case, they both tried to keep a straight face and they both stayed silence. Lydia had so many words to say but none reached her tongue, and Liam... Liam was in pain because someone who considered family had played him like a puppet. How could he trust her after that? How could he trust Stiles? They meant well, yes, but that doesn't make it right.

  
It was a few more minutes before they were called into the Judge's chambers. When they walked in, they exchanged the usual pleasantries and the Judge motioned for them to take a seat. They did, and as he took his own behind his desk, he grabbed a file from its surface. The dark stamp with the word 'confidential' across it had Liam tensing in his seat.

  
The Judge took his sweet time reviewing the file he had probably read ten times already until he revealed its contents. He dropped the file back on the desk, crossed his hands on it and looked at them both carefully, "The charges against you have been dropped, both of you. Mr Liam Dunbar, you have committed no crimes in the eyes of the law, which leaves me no choice but to allow you to complete your Candidacy as a Mayor. And you Ms Lydia Martin are allowed to continue the hard work of ridding our city of bad blood and bad faith. You are free to go on as you were."

  
Liam couldn't believe what he was hearing. The relief he felt was indescribable and yet he couldn't let it show.There was no more preparations for a trial, there were no more accusations to answer for and he had no idea why . A wild guess would be that this was Stiles' doing, or Theo's, but he had no way to know and he was sure the Judge wouldn't tell him. He could hear Lydia saying goodbye and leaving, he could hear himself doing the same, feel his body following her footsteps. But the Judge's voice stopped him and connected his brain to reality once more.

  
"Mr Dunbar," Judge Cohner called out. "If I may have a word before you leave."

  
Liam stepped back inside, straightening his suit as a nervous gesture, "Yes, Your Honor."

  
The Judge looked at him carefully, with an expression Liam was having a hard time to decipher. "Whatever guardian angel you seem to have over your shoulder, cherish it. Don't let it go. If you do end up taking the seat as Mayor, I can only see troubles for your future." His words heeded a warning he couldn't truly understand yet. But still, he would keep them close in his heart.

  
Liam frowned at the ominous words, but he didn't oppose them. "Thank you, Your Honor." If the charges were dropped, did that mean the police would drop it as well? Maybe the Judge could at least tell him that much. "If I may ask, what about the police?

  
The Judge almost shrugged at that, "The police will have to take my word for it or stay in the dark. Either way, there’s not much they can do about it as this is far above their pay grade. Even mine, as a matter of fact."

  
Because that wasn't suspicious.

  
Either way, Liam was free. And so were the police to do as they wished. But the world now knew Liam had done no wrong. Liam had a chance. Maybe not all hope was lost. Maybe, he could still be the youngest Mayor of Beacon Hills. Big dreams, right? Liam didn't mind. It was all worth it.

 

* * *

 

They were back at the blacksite. At least Theo was not a prisoner this time. He could go outside for certain things, but only if he was tremendously careful and if possible under disguise.

Liam and Lydia were officially exonerated from their charges. But they still had a lot of work to do. The Dread Doctors hadn't confessed anything so far and Corey was still in a catatonic state. It seemed as if the Dread Doctors' control reached too far into his mind. Stiles had tried spells and herbs, but nothing worked. They had gotten no reaction out of him. They were currently in Stiles' office trying to figure out their next course of action.

Stiles was pacing, unable to sit still as when faced with a problem he couldn't solve. "We have to help him. We can't let him be mind controlled by the Dread Doctors. Not if we want them gone for good."  But he knew they had done that to Theo when they first took him. He must have some insight, right? Stiles turned to him and asked, "How did you do it?"

Theo shook his head, "Whatever I did, it's not going to work this time."

Theo's tone seemed defensive to Stiles, and he was curious to find out why. He narrowed his eyes at him and asked, "Why? What did you do?"

Theo squared his shoulders, refusing to be ashamed for what he had to do at the age of fourteen. He had been fourteen years old and he couldn't remember how he had even gotten to be that old. He hadn't been just losing time. He had been losing himself and he had hated that with a passion he had never felt before. "I gave in."

Derek understood all too well what he meant by that. There had been demons and darkness surrounding him at times, not leaving him alone until he did the same thing. And he knew why. He had been silent so far, but this time he spoke, looking at Theo with an understanding look no one else could share, "They didn't need to control your mind if you did their bidding at your own will."

Theo nodded and then shrugged because as accurate as that was, at the same time it wasn't. "Will is a strong word. But that feeling of your body not being your own, the time lapses driving you insane with all you could have done..." as Theo thought back to all he had been through, one thing became clear to him, "We can't let Corey be erased."

"We won't," Derek promised. "I know how we're going to bring him back. We will need to use that bond you two have to do it. Stiles will do the rest."

Theo didn't waste time denying Derek's statement. Out of all the people from the chimera pack, Corey had been different. There had been many times he had thought, this is what pack must feel like. Maybe it was. If pack was the only thing that could save Corey right now, then that's what Theo was going to be.

 


	11. Chapter 11

_"It has been a historical moment for Beacon Hills citizens, as they have elected their Mayor showing him overwhelming support both in numbers and messages they have sent to the Candidate, now Mayor of Beacon Hills, Liam Eugene Dunbar. After the tumultuous past few months, Liam Dunbar has come on the other side not just standing, but wearing the crown of justice. He has just give his acceptance speech in Beacon Hills City Hall and he reminded us with every single word why he was chosen..."_

* * *

 

Liam could barely believed where he was. He had been sitting in his campaign room with Mason on one side and his mom on the other. There were moments when he looked at him and the worry for Corey was gone. It was replaced with anticipation for the coming results. They had worked hard to bring the polls back around, to have Liam rise like a phoenix from the ashes in the hearts of the people. The did all they could in the little time they had left and according to the last polls they had succeeded. But assumptions and hard evidence are something completely different, which is what they had been waiting for.

Since the moment the results were announced, from the cheers that were released around him, and champagnes being popped, to Liam walking out on that podium for his acceptance speech... Liam didn't remember a thing. But here he was, people cheering and waving banners with his face on them, but words escaped him for a moment.

He took a second to himself to remember what he had accomplished, to see what people felt when they heard his name. It was more than enough to disregard the old mechanical speech he had written, the one like all the others with the promises they made and the empty pleasantries. Instead, he created a new one as he spoke, one that came from his heart and not his mind. "I have been forever grateful to serve the people of Beacon Hills in any capacity they have needed me and this is no different. I will not try to hide behind my little finger. You know the truth. You know my history. You have been either with me or against me through the struggles of the past few months, through a time when I didn't even know if I could stand on my feet. But with your help, I did. And because you trusted me, you believed in me, I am standing here, before you today, not to make empty promises, but to share what I wish to do for this country, for our city, and I hope you agree with me. Because no one deserves to be judged by the colour of their skin, or whatever it is they're packing in their pants. Yes, a bit vulgar, I know, but have I said anything wrong so far? In my eyes, and in America's eyes, you can be whoever you want to be, in terms of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, because you know what? That's who we are.

“We are a diverse people, driven by the ambition of fulfilling the American Dream. We have let ourselves be defined by it at times and in my opinion, that's a grand mistake. America is not defined by dreams. It's defined by actions, by faith in people and ourselves, by finding unity in our diversity, by the talented educators that are trying to create broader minds for a better tomorrow, by the healers who try to keep us together when we feels like we're falling apart. And no, I'm not referring to professions. I'm referring to each and everyone of you who had lend a shoulder to your fellow citizen to cry on, everyone who has gone on a ten minute rant just to show someone something new. I'm referring to every single one of you who has done that for me at some point in my life. So I thank you. I am here to work with you, not against you. It doesn't matter which party you represent. It doesn't matter if you don't like me that much. But you and I have the same goal: a better tomorrow, an effective judicial system, a sufficiently funded police force, a well educated people and most of all, a protected environment, because right now there's no planet B and it's not our time to go yet. So, I hope you join me in shaping the future the way we want, and not the way society wants us to."

And as he finished and the people cheered once again, Liam thought it again: it was all worth it. The thought became even more prominent when the crowd parted like the sea and in walked a man that made his heart almost leap from his chest.

* * *

 

_"Deafening applause followed the youngest Mayor of Beacon Hills as he accepted his new position and later thanked everyone who made this possible, including but not limited to family members, Mason Hewitt, Lydia Martin, Stiles Stilinski, as well as Theo Raeken himself who made an appearance after being missing for months.”_

Theo could finally show himself to the world, but even if he couldn't, he wouldn't have missed this for anything. The moment he heard Liam had won, he had gotten inside his car and driven like a madman to his campaign office. He meant to congratulate him in private, hopefully before the whole world wanted a piece of him. But he could work with this, too.

He missed most of the speech and when he arrived people recognized him at once. They made way for him to move forward and Theo couldn't be more grateful for that. He was in no mood to push people to get to the podium, because like it or not, that was his goal and as he locked eyes with Liam he knew he wasn't the only one thinking that. Liam was now thanking people and Theo froze when he thanked him as well. Liam had nothing to thank him for. All he had done was put his life in danger. All he had ever done was cause him pain instead of happiness.

But Liam didn't care about any of that. He had to get close to Theo. He was within his grasp for once and he wasn't going to let him slip away. So, he got off the podium and walked towards him. He smiled and shook hands of strangers, but he didn't register anything. All he cared about was reaching Theo.

Liam was only a breath away now and Theo could barely remember what that actually meant. He had been dreaming of this moment for so long, but he never actually planned for it. He never thought of what to say when it actually happened. He had dreamed of being in the same space as Liam with everything laid bare between them. It wasn't yet, but it still surprised him how vulnerable he felt in this moment. There were so many things he wanted to say, none of them appropriate for the current venue. He was lost in Liam's eyes, in the blue of the ocean, he was swimming and he was drowning and he never wanted to escape. "I'm so-"

Liam didn't let him finish. "Shut up." Liam had stopped and stared at him for too long and yet not long enough. He had seen emotions passing through Theo's eyes that the flashing lights just wouldn't let him decipher. But there was one thing he had promised himself he'd do the next time he saw Theo and this time he wouldn't be able to deny or pretend anything afterwards. So, he put his arms around Theo's neck and he did what he had been dreaming for a long time; he kissed him, right there, in front of everyone and the whole nation he kissed the man he had missed all this time, the man he couldn't deny he had feelings for anymore. He didn't want to fight this. And as Theo kissed him back, Liam understood Theo was tired of fighting too.

When they came up for air, it felt like Theo was seeing Liam for the first time. Cliche as it was, Theo felt the need, the longing, the emotion through this kiss. Probably another cliche to say that he was looking at Liam with a new light, but he was. It was as if before he didn't know the true beauty this man possessed. It wasn't just that he was easy on the eyes; he was there in his heart. He had a heart of his own, one that made Theo's strive to be better, to do things right for once. He wanted to hold him, and kiss him and protect him from anyone who wanted to harm him. He wanted to be with him in any way Liam would let him and he wanted to tell him everything. But this wasn't the place for that. "Take me back."

Liam didn't know if Theo wished to take him back to the start, or if he simply meant for Liam to accept him just as he is. But Liam was willing to do whatever possible for Theo to never leave again, for Theo to actually want to stay. They had a lot to talk about. There were apologies to be said, explanations to be given and Liam didn't want to wait any longer. "Let's go."

Theo chuckled at Liam's eagerness, "You know Mason will kill us, right?"

Liam shook his head, "He can kill us tomorrow. Right now, I want to spend the rest of my night with you."

Theo could take this for the innuendo that it was, but he didn't. Instead, he latched onto the phrasing, "Just this night?"

Liam smiled at that. He had expected Theo to be an asshole about it, just like he usually was about double entendres, but this was a pleasant surprise. "Maybe the rest of them, too." Liam took Theo's hand and he turned to leave but Theo stopped him momentarily.

"Wait. Speaking of Mason, give me your phone."

Liam unlocked it for him and handed it over, confused. He watched as Theo typed something and then handed it back with a grin. "Maybe this will help."

On the other side of the room, Mason's phone buzzed with a new text. _‘Corey will be home tonight.’_

As Mason stared at the message on his phone, he said aloud to whoever was listening, "Did the newly appointed Mayor of Beacon Hills just kiss an alleged criminal and former fellow candidate on national television?"

"Yep, he did."

"That's it. I'm going to kill him." He would wait until after he got reacquainted with Theo though.

 

* * *

 

About the message Liam sent him, Mason didn't know what to think. Mainly, he didn't know how to feel about it, because he had done a lot of thinking in  the time Corey was gone. He tried to figure out Corey's role in all of this. Why Liam's campaign? When Mason followed Liam, Corey had no obligation to do the same. He definitely got paid less. So why was he supporting Liam? That was the question that plagued his mind. He had analyzed every possible scenario his head could come up with, had tried to predict probabilities but he had come up with nothing. Corey's absence was like a hole in his chest that Mason didn't know how to fill.

He went home as soon as he could after Liam left. If Liam was going to be gone, then he could give himself the night off as well and even if the victory was sweet, he was in no mood to party. So, he went home, sat on the couch with his feet on the seat and his knees close to his chest, and waited to hear the lock turning at the door. He hoped Corey still had his key. He didn't know how he'd feel if he didn't.

He had no clue how much time passed until he heard it. He had been alone with only his thoughts for company when the front door finally opened. His head snapped up at the sound. He saw Corey walking in cautiously in the same clothes he had left in.

"What did you mean when you said you worked for them first?"

Honestly, Mason never thought that'd be the first thing he’d say to Corey when he came back. He'd imagined he'd be relieved and not give a damn about anything else other than having him in his arms again and kissing him because there had been times he'd thought he'd never get to do that ever again. But life was not a movie, and that was proven to him with every thought that passed his mind as he saw Corey freeze like a deer in headlights and look at him with an expression that could only mean guilt. And Mason understood something important in that moment. "You didn't mean before working for Liam, did you?"

During his research, Mason had found that someone had tampered with Liam's campaign system. Someone had been cloning all the files since the beginning though Mason hadn't been able to trace where they were going. He had his suspicions, but he never wanted them to be confirmed.

Corey slumped, there was no other way to explain it. It was as if his body gave up using whatever little energy it needed to stay upright. He sighed sadly and looked Mason in the eyes - he owed him that much at least, "You know."

Mason chuckled at that. He really wished he didn't. "Yeah. I thought if the Dread Doctors wanted Liam to lose so much that they'd kill him, maybe they would also do something else to ensure he failed, like plant stories or people." He put emphasis on that last word. They were both on the same page on what had happened.

But there were still things Mason didn't understand. Corey didn't know if he'd let him explain. "Mason..." he took a step forward. He wanted to get closer to him, but Mason stopped him.

He untangled his legs from the couch and started to get up. He wanted to be on the same eye level for this. If any part of their relationship had been real, then he'd have to keep their promise to never argue from unequal positions. "Now, I admit my computer skills are rusty, but I was kind of determined to see if there was anyone hurting my best friend."

It felt like a slap in the face. It was like he could still hear the sound of it resonating inside his mind. "I'm sor-" _I'm sorry,_ Corey tried to say, but Mason didn't want to hear it.

He walked a bit closer to Corey, his hands flailing around in anger, "Honestly, it wasn't even that hard. You didn't even cover your tracks!"

"I didn't want to!" Corey suddenly burst out. It gave Mason pause and that was all Corey needed to explain himself. "I thought that maybe if you caught me, then you'd fire me and this whole thing would be over! I wanted Liam to win! But I couldn't-"

Mason looked at Corey as he explained things. He saw no lie written on his face. He only saw guilt and desperation, desperation for Mason to believe him and that made something snap inside of him. There was only one more question he needed answered before he gave in. "Was I a part of the plan?"

Corey looked at him incredulously, "What?"

"Was being with me just another way to hurt Liam?"

It hurt. It hurt to even hear those words and it hurt even more that he had drove Mason to a point where he had such a thought. And it was all his fault. Whatever the Dread Doctors did, making sure Mason knew how loved he was, how very much in love with Mason Corey was, that was Corey's job, a job he had failed. He had never wanted to fail at that. "How could you think that?" Corey asked, his voice small.

Mason laughed bitterly, and motioned at the world around them, "Have you looked around lately?! How could I not?" Their lives had been full of political crime, collusion, death threats, trials, manipulation... the list could went on. Was it so far fetched to think that if everything he knew about the world order was a lie, that this could be a lie too?

Corey had nothing left to lose. It felt as if he had already lost Mason and he had been the only thing tethering him to reality, his anchor to stay afloat in times when his mind didn't feel like his own. And it actually hadn't been. There was no good way to admit that, but it's not like this could get any worse at this point. "No. You weren't a part of the plan.The Dread Doctors controlled my mind but not my heart. You are my anchor, Mason. You were my anchor through it all, when I did things I didn't want, when my body felt like it wasn't my own, when my brain just wouldn't listen to me, you were there. You grounded me. You kept me sane and they knew that. And I knew if I didn't give in, then you wouldn't be here right now. And I couldn't risk that even if that meant betraying you. Even if it meant betraying myself. Even if I..." Corey paused at that. It was hard to say it out loud. It was a word he never wanted to exist in his vocabulary, but this is where they were, "...lost you, you'd still be alive." Corey couldn't look at him anymore. He didn't want to see the expression on his face as he told him it was over. He would probably never forgive him and Corey couldn't hold it against him.

"You haven't lost me." That was the truth. He loved Corey too much to let him go. Yes, they'd have to work through it all, they'd have to talk about it extensively and he didn't really know if they were going to make it or not, if he would be able to forgive everything, but he was willing to try. He believed Corey had his reasons for doing what he did, and it seemed, it wasn't all his own doing, but Mason wanted to understand. He wanted to forgive him. He wanted to try.

Corey's head snapped up once those words sunk in. "What?"

"I'm not saying everything is okay, because it's not, or that I forgive you, because I haven't yet." Mason moved to stand right in front of Corey then. He wanted to get even closer, to touch him, to kiss him, but he didn't think it was right, not when they hadn't talked. Corey's kisses, his touch, had always been like a drug to him; he could never get enough. This wasn't the time to get lost in that. But he couldn't help but lean his forehead against Corey's and put his hand on the back of his neck. He had missed this intimacy between them. He wanted it back. "I want to try. I'm not letting you go."

Relief was not enough to describe what Corey was feeling, maybe hope was closer. Gratefulness was definitely there. "Thank you," he whispered. There were too many things to thank Mason for, for accepting him, for being willing to listen and understand, for loving him when he could barely love himself, for keeping him when he had every right to throw him out on his ass. The list was much longer than a piece of paper could ever hold. And if a tear fell from the corner of his eye, then, Mason was there to catch it. Mason was there to catch him.

 

* * *

 

It was half past four in the morning and Theo and Liam were in bed, both wide awake. They had been talking all this time. Theo had explained everything, had shared his life story with Liam and Liam had done the same. Sure, there were small details neither of them were ready to share yet, but tonight they had told each other things nobody else knew. There was a lot more to talk about and they would get to it, in time, but for now they had laid the first brick to build the wall of trust and it was a beginning they hadn't bothered with before.

Liam was getting sleepy though. Theo smiled when he yawned, unable to hold it in any longer. He was too cute for his own good. He kissed him, softly, gently, just because he wanted to, just because he could do that now. "You can sleep, sleepyhead."

Liam moaned his agreement. "I probably should." But he was afraid to. Last time he had fallen asleep next to Theo, it hadn't worked out so well for either of them. "Promise me you're going to be here in the morning?"

Theo's eyes softened at that. He kept the sadness and the regret at bay. They were moving forward now. "I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

Liam had the most peaceful sleep in what felt like years. And if Theo woke up early because his bladder was about to burst, and if he woke up Liam up just because he didn't want Liam to think he'd left - or because he simply wanted to be a dick about it - then that was okay.

No, you don't get how big of a deal it was for Liam to say that. Liam was not a morning person. When Theo had tried to wake him up, he cursed at him with words no ordinary person could come up with when they were half asleep, he threw pillows and even a clock at him, until Theo lifted him up over his shoulder and took him with him to the bathroom, laughing his ass off while Liam complained about the cold. And if this was the beginning of their relationship, it was safe to say there wasn't going to be an end.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it. [This](http://puddingwillbeouralways.tumblr.com/) is my tumblr if you're interested. So.... I have to ask, was it any good?
> 
> -RC


End file.
